


Libera Me from Hell

by Faust91x (Arthur91)



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 11:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/848765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthur91/pseuds/Faust91x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Don't worry Homura-chan! I'll take it from here!" said Madoka with a weak smile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I wish...

**Libera Me from Hell**

* * *

"Don't worry Homura-chan, I'll take it from here!" said Madoka with a weak smile.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Author notes:**

Phew been dead around here, wanna make up for it with this story. Most probably will continue the others when I have time, currently I'm pretty busy (I have one week to build a robot :S).

Credit to  **Grimgrendel**  that proposed this title for one of the chapters of his/hers? amazing story **Puella Magi Kizeki Magica** , if you haven't read it I highly recommend you do it, just bring a ton of tissues, he/she? outdid Urobuchi himself…

Now to the story!

 

 **EDIT:**  Made some improvements to make it more in line with the other chapters, hope it is easier to read and can be treated as an improvement rather than a detraction from the original.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕‿‿ ◕人＼

**Chapter 1 - I wish**

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Surgam Identidem A.K.A. Walpurgisnacht Theme**

"A failure, all a failure" thought Homura as she stared at the gigantic form of the Walpurgisnacht, her worst enemy.The humongous witch leveling the skyscrapers without a care in the world, her shrilling moans/laughter the only sound that broke through the deafening storm the witch produced.

"Why, why does she always survive no matter how much she throws at it? Why couldn't she defeat her?" wondered Homura desperate.

She had thrown the Walpurgis everything she had from rocket launchers to missiles along with a freaking gas truck and a stolen fighter jet she had managed to procure from one of the larger facilities outside of Mitakihara. No easy task, it had taken her weeks of planning and one military in a body bag to procure the armament, and yet, the Walpurgisnacht continued laughing, gears spinning and not more than a minor scratch to show.

But she? No, she couldn't get a rest, covered in ash and a missing arm, "luckily it was her right hand, otherwise she would be dead, which wouldn't be that bad of a deal…" she thought as she revised her body; blood pouring from the numerous wounds she received from the flying debris the witch brought with herself and nothing to show for it.

Sayaka was dead, killed this time by her hand, so was Mami and Kyouko. Her sand had run out again and the witch had taken the chance to blow her with a mouthful of flame that charred her face, burning out her hair and leaving her in the ground to recover. And the worst part? There had been worse timelines...

She sighed while trying to regain her balance. It was time to try again, one more failed timeline, one more try…but would this hell ever end?

Homura had no other words with which to describe the suffering she went through trying to save her…it was pure unadulterated hell…

"Still, it's worth it, it has to be!" she thought trying to reassure herself more than anything. Gritting her teeth and bearing with the pain of her missing arm. Once the timeline was reset she would wake up as good as new, such a shame her mind would be as tired as ever...

At least Madoka hadn't Contracted yet, it had taken her weeks of sleepless nights watching over her, killing the Incubator as soon as he got close enough to make contact. It had tired her out and the only thing she could do to keep herself from falling asleep was pumping more magic into her system, which meant spending more time gathering Grief Seeds and more witches, and left her with little time to prepare for the battle…

She got a hold on her shield using the stump that used to be her arm to turn the hourglass and start the nightmare all over again.

As she was about to restart time she saw her…running through the scenery, tripping, several wounds on her body, no doubt from the debris and it was almost a miracle she was alive, unlike last time when a flying glass pane severed her head…

"No, you can't rembember that Homura! It's of no use! Focus!". she reprimanded herself to do what had to be done, which was to convince the pinkette to not Contract, if possible, although knowing her it would all be in vain and she would end up having to make another reset...

"Why are you here!?"- said Homura with anger seeping in her tone. It was only a façade, a tactic she had mechanized countless times to scare Madoka into behaving and stopping her from being reckless. She may have been genuinely concerned or angry once, a long time ago…but not anymore, she already knew all the lines, all possible reactions Madoka could give to her, all but the one way to save her….

"I…I just wanted to help…" – said Madoka in a scared tone of hers as she rushed towards Homura, lying in the ground and trying to regenerate as fast as she could from Walpurgisnacht's lastest onslaught. After almost getting burned alive, she had managed to crawl to a corner of a demolished building where she was sure the familiars wouldn't be able to spot her and after making sure no building would come crashing against her she let herself a moment of pause as she thought her next strategy to combat the Walpurgisnacht. Now she had Madoka by her side that frantically tried to wipe the blood from her face while staring in horror at Homura's missing arm.

The sight of Madoka so worried for her made her want to cry but she relented and instead shrugged Madoka's hands making the pinkette stumble backwards in surprise. ' _You have to be strong Homura, for her_!' she reprimanded herself.

It was obvious she couldn't stand the sight of Homura in such a state and so chose to keep her eyes outside of her broken form. Now she would give an explanation to justify her actions, most probably using the Incubator's claims as back up.

"I just talked to Kyubey" said Madoka softly. There, typical. Why was it that she listened more to that white rat than to her once best friend?!

"He told me about you, and your time travels...and about your wish…" said Madoka, concern showing in her voice. –"Is…is that really true?"- she said, voice trembling and incredulous as she made eye contact with Homura.

Now this was new. The times she got to know about her wish where usually by being told from herself, not from the Incubator as he usually kept that information in case it proved useful or dangerous for his plans.

The black haired Puella Magi made a quick estimation of their current situation before making her next move. ' _No familiars that can threaten us nearby, and the Walpurgis was traveling towards the refuge, most probably she is there already'_ Homura thought darkly as she imagined the witch leveling the whole compound as people screamed at the sight of the ceiling cracking open and the witch laughing in delight as it sucked the soul of everyone present...

One way or another it was over so maybe listening to what she had to say would be worth it, she may actually get to understand what situation she is in…put herself in her place at least once…maybe for once not sacrifice herself…

"Yes, it's true. I've been trying to save you since I met you a long time ago…you don't remember it but we were friends." answered Homura without passion. It was all mechanical, all a script, she couldn't give herself the smallest chance to feel, or the despair would destroy her.

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Sis Puella Magi!**

Madoka looked deep in thought for a moment, and then gave her a shy smile and answered "Alright then, I finally know what I must do" said Madoka and looked to her left which prompted Homura to see what it was that her pinkette friend was staring at and to her horror she spotted the one being she least wanted to see; a big floppy head with a ridiculous grin permanently plastered and a pair of ruby red eyes greeted her, almost mockingly as the Incubator walked and sat at Madoka's side.

"Kyubey, I'm ready, grant my wish as we agreed" Madoka ordered to the Incubator with a weak smile.

"What!? You can't! Then what was all this for?!" said Homura, true anger finally manifesting in her voice as she struggled with only her left arm to grab a gun and shoot the rat before it could enact the Contract. Still, it was harder than she thought with only one hand and she was having trouble getting the gun out of her shield.

"It's okay Homura! I finally understand what you went through, but don't worry! I'll take it from here!" said Madoka giving out one of her kind smiles, the ones she reserved for when she wanted to comfort someone or apologize for something she was about to do, both hands in her lap as she tried to console the black haired Puella Magi.

' _What the hell did she wish for?_ ' Was all Homura could think of as she was swallowed by pink light…

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Awake Soundtrack - Main Titles Part 2.**

She woke up to a world of pain. She tried to moan, to clutch her chest which felt as if it was on fire, and so were her lungs. She remembered this pain, from a long time ago…before she Contracted.

Her eyes were closed and to her horror she found she couldn't open them. She had trouble breathing and it came only in small intakes, too little to overcome the feeling of suffocation. All sort of voices were shouting, aggravated, while she heard the sound of the wheels on the stretcher they had put her in.

"Quickly! We're losing her!" said a male voice she couldn't recognize. From the tone of it he was a doctor and she was about to die.

She felt them putting something big and plastic on her face, a mask, and she felt her body heave as the anesthesia took effect on her body. Everything felt so vivid, so real and suddenly everything made sense to her, as much as she wanted to ignore it as she found herself reviving one of the worst life events in her life…her heart transplant…

The gas made her feel drowsy and start losing consciousness but she knew it wouldn't be enough. Before the nightmares about the witches she had had these nightmares…the first ones…

They were taking off her medical robe, and now she felt a needle puncturing her arm. She shouldn't feel it, but she knew better…

' _No, please, I don't wanna relive this! Someone stop this!_ ' she thought and tried to scream to the doctors that the anesthesia wasn't taking effect but to no avail. She couldn't move a limb nor a sound escaped her mouth, she was stuck immobile to their whims.

The fire in her lungs and chest was replaced with another kind of pain, of the razor cutting through her flesh, the unbearable sensation of the knife as it made its way from her chest up to close to her stomach, she remembered the horrible scar, but this was far worse. It was so vivid, so…real! If she could she would have screamed but her limbs were stuck and she couldn't do a thing about it. Tears of pain came from her eyes but the medics didn't notice. They never did…

She tried counting to help her focus on something other than the pain…one…two…one hundred…three hundred…one thousand…she thought she was going to go mad from all this and then with a jolt of pain everything was gone.

"Nurse! Prepare the defibrillator!" she heard the doctor shout.

Weird, she was dead now, she didn't remember being in this black void when she died on her first surgery, then again, she was dead, maybe she wouldn't remember when she got back, that is, if, she managed to get back…fear stuck her at the idea of never seeing her family again.

"One, two, three, now!" the voice shouted and a jolt of electricity arched through her body and she felt it, the discharge unbearably hot on her nerves. She felt as though she was on fire!

"Stop that!" she urged to the doctors but they wouldn't listen…

"Again, one, two, three, now!", another discharge of pain. Her body wouldn't answer though.

"Please, someone, help me! I don't want to die!" she said to no one in particular even though it was all in her mind, her voice wouldn't come out of her and neither was she able to move a limb as the electricity burned her insides.

"Common, you can make it, don't leave us just yet!" urged the male voice, "One, two, three, now!", and with a final jolt she felt her back arching and her new heart beating back to life.

She opened her eyes and let out a scream that startled the smiling doctors…

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Confessio.**

She woke up to her hospital bed. The one she had known and hated since she was transferred there.

She was alone. Alone like always. Her parents wouldn't visit; they saw her as a disgrace to her family. The nurses tried to cheer her up but it was all for naught, and she also had to take those horrible medicines. She looked with chagrin to her box of medicaments, huge boxes and bottles all over her table. She had to take like five different pills every two hours or so, and drink those awful syrups they served her every six hours. She hated them the most of all.

She also couldn't go outside or spend more than one hour outside of her bed. Her body was weak and pale and doing something as simple as walking strained her heart and caused her a lot of pain and exhaustion. She usually spent her time looking at the ceiling, counting the number of holes in there…exactly 873 in total, no more, no less…

But well, she had one whole year to get used to it all, if she ever did, she knew she wouldn't…

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

One year had passed and her heart had finally accustomed itself to her new body, that weak carcass she felt was better off as worm food than anything else. She was worthless after all, wasn't she? She looked at the mirror with empty eyes. The weight of time had taken its toll on her already, and there was a lot she still had to do.

She started to prepare her uniform. Today was going to be a very special day as she would transfer to Mitakihara and finally see if it had all been worth it…

Taking her beloved red ribbons, a memento of happier times, Kaname Madoka finally got out of the hospital…

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

 

**CHAPTER END**

 

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**End notes:**

Tell me what you think! Is it good? Bad? Awful? I've tried to make it less physical and more emotional, but still not my specialty, trying to improve so suggestions are welcome.

 ~~Also this one will be a two parter so expect the end soon...I hope, heheh.~~   **EDIT: As seen, no longer a two parter as this became more and more complex and interesting, heheheh.**

 


	2. Exchange

**Author Notes:**

Thanks to  **James Birdsong**  and **Guess**  for their reviews! And to answer Guess's qestion, they keep their original personalities because for one, if they switched them we'd have a repeat of Homura's journey to save Madoka and it would be boring, and second, for the evulz, as Madoka is far more empathic than Homura, in Kotomine Kirei's words "her suffering will be far more exquisite to behold...", please don't flame me! XD

Also thanks **KiyumiArashi**  for such an in depth review to this and my other story **Judgement** , I'm really glad you enjoyed them and will do my best to improve and make them as enjoyable to read as its for me to write them! And yeah you got me, I had to play a little with Madoka's personality but will try to keep her in character, that motto is really a huge part of who she is.

Madoka will always be Madoka and Homura will always be Homura, that's what I liked from the anime, even though Homura tried to take Madoka's place, she couldn't as their approach to solving a problem or facing a situation are different, both with their pros and cons. They're different but compliment each other. That's why I like their dynamic.

Now to the story! And with music!

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Libera Me from Hell**

**Chapter 2 - Exchange**

_Song: Yuki Kajiura - Decretum_

And so the hero of justice stood alone against her enemy, white cape swaying in the wind as she readied her sword for a final strike. Before her, a giant of a beast stood, resembling a mix between a lizard and a bus, huge body filled with yellow scales with black stripes and yellowish maddened lamps for eyes, forever angry, a being born from betrayal that lived only to sow her revenge on the world that ruined her life.

Spewing forth flames of pure hatred that could melt even the strongest of steels, the demon attacked the white caped crusader with all she got. Sayaka dodged by rolling to her left and kept advancing towards her target, her face a look of complete resolve and confidence. Her movements graceful and unstoppable.

The being raised a clawed hand with a strong resemblance to broken tires and metal pipes and slammed it hard against Sayaka. The hero of justice countered by summoning forth a circle of beautiful musical notes that she used as a platform, and so high in the air she floated, far away from her troubles and the danger that the being posed to her. Creating another set of platforms in front of the witch she launched herself against her objective emitting a battle cry as she fell, like a graceful comet or a shooting star...

The witch retaliated by spewing another volley of flames towards Sayaka, but she countered by summoning several more platforms and changing her trajectory at the last second. If anyone could have seen the battle they'd be awestuck as Sayaka fought with all her might against her enemy.

One volley of flame came far too close to home and burned Sayaka's arm. She flinched at the heat but didn't stop her assault and instead slammed her blade between the demon's lit eyes.

The beast let out a guttural cry of anger and agony as the hero of justice broke both lights and left it blind, it clawed at its face with its scaled metallic hands trying to kill the hero but she dodged the claws with ease and kept injuring the beast.

"And now for my final strike!" screamed Sayaka as she readied her sword and prepared her finisher move and then...

"Honey! Come eat your breakfast or you're going to be late for school!" said an older feminine voice from outside of her room.

"Coming mom!" said Homura as she lowered her pen and admired the wonderful artwork she had just written.

_／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼_

_Song: Yuki Kajiura - Scaena felix_

A feeling of contentment filled Homura Akemi that day, she was closer to finishing her story than expected and she couldn't wait to show it to the other members of the book club she just began. "One month and we already have over 20 members!" thought Homura with glee as she thought of all the wonderful stories and friends she had made that year. It was no doubt her year, after having moved with momma to Mitakihara from Fuyuki almost one year ago, she had come to class, afraid she wouldn't be able to make any friends, after all, that land had a bad reputation of periodically being the center of disasters, like that fire that had consumed it 10 years ago...and losing her previous life hadn't been something one would get over easily.

Still, she was lucky to have such a supportive mom as hers, and one of the most cool to! At least that's what everybody told her after meeting her mother, Maiya Akemi. She was one of the strongest womans ever, being a single mother and having single-handily taken care of Homura. Homura didn't know much about her father, as her mother refused to talk too much about him, all she knew was that he was a pretty famous name in the underground and made a living on shady business; they had met in a faraway country and he had taken her as his apprentice to travel around the world and help him on his "line of work". After learning of her pregnancy he had abandoned her, and that was it. Homura didn't dare to ask too much about her previous life as it always brought tears to her mother's eyes and Homura didn't like seeing her sad. She admired her mother so much and hoped to one day grow to become as cool as her.

Still, everything had worked out smoothly and she had made quite a reputation at school due to her good grades and being a good child. She was confident and hopeful that the future would bring her new and more exciting joys.

She walked down the stairs to the kitchen where her mom was busy reading the newspaper while calmly drinking a cup of coffee. "Good morning honey" said her mother in that kind tone of hers.

"Good morning momma!" said Homura with a huge smile on her face as she looked at her breakfast. Waffles, her favorite! Her mother smiled at the sight of her daughter as Homura took a seat and starting serving her tray.

"I've been told by the school staff about the club you organized, congratulations" said her mother as Homura took a bite from the food before her, it was delicious! At hearing the praise from her mother she swelled her chest in pride.

"Thanks mom! I'm really glad you approve of it" said Homura politely bowing to her mother figure. Even though her mother was usually carefree, the serious streak seemed to run in the family and they usually acknowledged each other politely.

"Now now, you don't have to be so modest. I'm sure you're going to do great." said her mother and Homura's eyes lit up.

Then she remembered she had to finish her food already or she would be late. "Oh no! I'm late!" Worriedly she took several mouthfuls of food and downed a huge glass of orange juice, almost choking in the attempt which garnered her a small chuckle from her mother.

"Have a nice day darling" said her mother with a smile, and then with a more serious expression she said "and if one of your classmates gives you trouble, remember the move I taught you..." she said with a more somber expression.

"Momma you're scary" said Homura while laughing nervously and remembering the sparring and combat lessons her mother had taught her a long time ago. She believed those things were part of the training her mother had taken while in her old job. She didn't give it much of a thought.

Grabbing her school bag Homura gave her mother a high five as she headed for school.

_／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼_

_Song: Madoka Portable OST Spes - Materia Madocae_

Fortunately for Homura time was not something she usually had to worry about. For some weird reason she had a very good sense of time and usually could plan and adjust her activities perfectly, making the most out of every minute. Her mother told her it ran in the family. Either way, she managed to arrive at the usual meeting place and she spotted two familiar figures, one a cheerful girl with blue hair that was looking at her with a look of fake annoyance while a green haired girl gave her a shy smile.

"Homura, where have you been? We almost thought you wouldn't make it!" said Sayaka as she got a hold of Homura with her arm and took her towards her other friend Hitomi.

"Sorry! I was writing my story and kind of lost track of time..." said Homura while trying to free herself from Sayaka's hold.

"Oh that's great Homura, can't wait to read what happens next" said Hitomi politely. Even though Homura had been shy of showing her stories to her friends, after much pleading she had relented and they had somehow convinced her to start her book club. She was thankful at having such supportive friends.

"Oi Oi! You better have given the heroine a good finisher!" said Sayaka with joy. "Something like, I don't know, a giant energy blast or even better! Her own world made of swords!" said Sayaka raising her voice as her excitement grew. Somewhere in a parallel universe, a tanned man with white hair sneezed.

"Thanks for your input...I'll...consider it" said Homura politely. Sayaka had asked her if she could appear in her stories given her love for stories of good versus evil and finally Homura had added her as the protagonist. It had worked pretty well but still, in a lot of the encounters she was left with the feeling that somehow they would have ended differently if they had happened for real. The one with the fire demon for example, Homura couldn't shake off the sensation that the being would have burnt Sayaka to a crisp the moment she got too close, as morbid as that thought was, she just felt it as if it had already happened. Shaking the offending thought she focused on the great day ahead.

_／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼_

_Song: Madoka Portable OST Ubi Eam_

She rolled on her bed, unable to manage sleep. It was just too much...

Her head felt hot as the visions kept playing in her mind. She was in front of her class, hands clasped in front of her, hunched, her braids hanging by her sides as she stared at the floor, feeling completely nervous and unable to keep eye contact with anyone. Far away a pinkette, herself, was looking with eager eyes and a huge smile.

Then she stared at her beloved mother, Junko Kaname as they shared a glass, hers of juice while her mother drank her vodka with calm. "I can't wait to be old enough to drink with you!" said Madoka in her usual cheerful voice.

"Then grow up faster!" answered Junko with a smile.

The scene transformed to one of her mother looking at her with scorn, in a house she had never seen, while she was on the floor sobbing. "You're so useless! Why can't you do anything right?" shouted her mother at her while Madoka stared at the broken glass, she only wanted some water to stop the dizziness she felt, but her strength had waned at the last minute, and now she was on the floor, sobbing as her mother kept shouting and insulting her for her weakness.

Another scene and she was staring at her own dismembered corpse, product of Izabel's black claws. She had blown up the whole barrier and half of the factory in a rage, the structure collapsing upon itself and taking Sayaka and Kyouko with it. Kyouko had been blown to smithereens while Sayaka laid several meters ahead, impaled through the stomach by a broken pipe that had fallen from the collapsing structure. She was sobbing so loudly while trying to forget the sight of the blood and her broken face...she knew she wouldn't.

Scene after scene kept flashing across Madoka's mind, not letting her rest. It had been like this since she had taken her wish and changed destiny, world after world mixing and robbing her of her sleep. She even had troubles discerning which memories belonged to which timeline, some where Homura's, others were from her old life, her happy life she had thrown away for this wish, and others were from this reality, her reality, filling with despair every minute.

Kyubey making her make the contract while she stared in horror from another's perspective, from Homura's eyes as she shouted in rage and despair while pink light engulfed her. Of Mami shooting everyone to death while laughing hysterically, of laughing with Sayaka and Hitomi while hanging at the mall, of her family leaving her at the hospital, telling her they would be back, and never showing ever again. Watching the world end by her cause as the dark witch that came from her Soulgem swallowed the world...

**************End of Chapter**************

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**End Notes / Rant:**

Honestly I was of the idea of simply maiming and killing them horribly on this one XD, but I'm also a fan of the **Earn your Happy Ending**  trope and I'm feeling tempted to change the outcome. Guess it will depend on my mood...

This chapter is more like buying time and establish the setting as I won't have too much time to advance the plot this week. Also I'm in kind of a logical tangle, I'm not sure if Madoka should or shouldn't be a Mahou Shoujo from the beginning of this timeline. My logical being tells me she should but then her body wouldn't be frail and would make things too easy...and also what would her weapon be? I don't think she should have the bow as her wish was changed to one of empathy, actually I have no idea what a bow has to do with the wish of saving a cat... **Rule of Cool**  I guess?

And so here it is! More like **Prelude**  time, I've thought about it and feel this story can have more chapters. How many I have no idea, guess it will depend on how well its received and the inspiration.

This week I just found and downloaded the whole Madoka series in Blu-Ray and I. JUST HAD TO WATCH IT, not very smart of me as I'm in exams and supposed to be studying...

**Today:**  There's no way I'd regret this...

**Exam in Friday:**  I'm such a fool!

But I still cant get over how Urobuchi did it, just when you feel like shes gonna win in Episode 3 (yeah, a weird part of my brain kept telling me she would survive this time...) WHAM! chompped, and then when you feel things couldn't get worse, he manages to turn it **Up to Eleven**...


	3. Transfer student

**Author Notes:**

**Here’s chapter three part 1 as I’m in quite of a hurry. The contents of this one might change if I get to give it a revision. I couldn’t wait to upload it and get things going, gotta admit I’m getting a lot of enjoyment in writing this.**

**I’ll post part 2 soon.**

**About** **Libera Me from Hell** **, I just like the ringing of that and reminds me of** **Grimgrendel** **’s story so treat is as a kind of ‘writer freedom’, heheh.**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Libera Me from Hell**

**Chapter 3 – Transfer student**

Madoka was resting on her bed, feeling empty as she stared at the ceiling. Sayaka-chan is dead, so is Mami-san and Kyouko-chan, all dead. Why was life so cruel to good people? They wanted to make a better world! And now no one would remember their sacrifices.

“Can I come in Madoka?” said a known and high pitched voice. Him of all things, she didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say, but she knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere until she listened, it was pointless trying to shoo him away. Suddenly, she felt a dark shadow getting above her and she found he now was on her shelf above her bed, staring at her with those red unblinking eyes.

“So you survived” said Madoka with apathy, after all, she wouldn’t be surprised other magical girls had done what Homura and shoot the Incubator after all he had done to them. He practically ruined lives for whatever dark agenda he had.

“I only came here to explain what your sacrifices make for the Universe, it’s not like we harbor resentment against humans or anything” said the Incubator with the same cheerful voice, as if he was talking about the weather.

“What…are you?” asked Madoka confused.

_Song: Yuki Kajiura – Sis Puella Magi!_

 

“We’re an evolved race, the Incubators, we come from a far away galaxy and our job is to save the Universe by protecting it from entropy” answered Kyubey to Madoka’s astonishment. “Do you know what entropy is, Madoka?” asked Kyubey without interest, obviously most girls he interacted with didn’t so he didn’t even wait for an answer, better to cut to the point. “It’s a measure of the Universe’s disorder, as the Universe expands, the amount of entropy keeps increasing and one day it will reach thermodynamic equilibrium, then…the Universe will run cold and disappear, you don’t want that, do you Madoka?” said the Incubator.

“What does anything of that have to do with turning us into witches?!?” said Madoka starting to lose her patience.

“Everything” answered Kyubey. “We were working long and hard to find a way to counteract entropy but even our most advanced technologies are dependent on the laws of physics. And that’s when we found the magic of the Puella Magi…we discovered that humans generate an enormous amount of emotional energy, energy that we can use to counteract entropy Madoka, and the energy liberated from the despair of girls in the second stage of growth is the most effective” he said matter flatly, red eyes staring at Madoka as the valued resource she was.

“And you Madoka, are the solution to the Universe’s problems” said Kyubey that disappeared from her shelf and appeared in a chair in front of her, always smiling, always staring. “One day you will become the most powerful Puella Magi, and then the most powerful witch, when that happens you’ll release an enormous amount of energy, enough to keep us from making anymore Contracts in at least a century. Sadly Akemi Homura keeps getting in the way, naively thinking she can change your fate”, said Kyubey with a hint of irritation. “But don’t worry; her days of meddling with our plans are over”.

“What do you mean? What does Homura have to do with any of this? What have you done to her?!?!?” said Madoka confused and worried for Homura’s safety, standing on her bed, Madoka stared at the Incubator trying to frighten him, to stop him, she knew it was pointless.

“After some research we have come to the conclusion that Akemi Homura isn’t from this timeline, meaning she has the ability of time travel. Repeating this same month over and over again, Akemi Homura has been trying to save you from your fate and failing every time.” said Kyubey to Madoka’s astonishment, so that’s why Homura was so protective of her? That’s why she always kept appearing at the last minute when she was most needed and why she always seemed know everything before it happened?

“We have concluded that’s the reason you have such amazing potential as a Puella Magi. The weight of time and the burden of failure has been hard on Akemi Homura, to the point that she has been unraveling with every passing loop, providing us with free energy every time. By revealing she’s the cause of your suffering we have sown the seed of doubt in Akemi Homura’s mind, ready to break her, and once she accepts she can’t change your fate, her Soul gem will instantly turn into a Grief Seed and we’ll have a new witch.” Madoka’s eyes widenend in horror at the realization of how far this “Incubator” was from the friendly magical girl mascots one usually found in anime ,this was closer to…a devil.

“Meanwhile you will become a Puella Magi trying to save her, and provide us with an endless amount of energy in the process. That will prevent the suffering of thousands of girls. Isn’t that desirable Kaname Madoka?” said Kyubey with pride at his master plan while trying to appeal to Madoka’s empathy.

What’s worse is that he knew her very well as Madoka was now trying to find a way to save Homura from her fate, surely there must be something that she could do!

If he had been able to produce emotions the Incubator would have grinned inside, _this fool, I have her right where I want to_.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

_Song: Kalafina - Magia_

“Don’t worry Homura-chan, I finally understand what you went through” said Madoka trying to sound reassuring to her once in a lifetime friend. Turning to the Incubator with a look of determination, Madoka asked her wish “I want to take Homura-chan’s place as the one who protects, I want to shoulder her despair and take her burdens, that’s my wish, now grant it Incubator!” spoke Madoka with a higher tone filled with confidence.

Feeling as if her heart was on fire, Madoka clutched at her chest as it began to glow and a beautiful and shiny pink stone escaped her, leaving her with a feeling of hollowness.

“The Contract is complete! Now embrace your new power!” said the Incubator in awe as Madoka took a hold of her Soul gem.

 _No, this can’t be happening, this isn’t what I wanted!_ Thought Homura desperate as she was engulfed by the pink light, she wanted Madoka to understand her, to put herself in her place, but not like this!

Clutching her buckler Homura turned her shield, only to watch it crumble to pieces, one gear at a time. The sand made a loud noise as it fell to the floor and dissipated to the wind…

”No, this can’t be happening! I need to change this outcome!” thought Homura, tears in her eyes, but as the pink light passed through her body, Homura’s face softened, her weary and hardened gaze fading with every passing second, “don’t do this to me! I don’t want to forget! I don’t want to…” and so Homura Akemi, the girl that fought against destiny died…leaving only a very confused Homura Akemi that also disappeared, lost into the time stream.

Kyubey rejoiced, the greatest threat to his plans was no more and Madoka would become a witch in another timeline, helping his alternate self’s efforts. “ _I’ve done all I can, it’s in your paws now, Kyubey”_ , thought the Incubator confident that his alternate self would make good use of this development.

Meanwhile Madoka clutched her head as her mind was flooded with memories, memories that didn’t belong to her. Tears came to her eyes as the torrent of emotions assaulted her very being and she felt the despair of a thousand worlds that never were, as she saw through Homura’s eyes the suffering and horrors she had faced.

By next morning there was no more Walpurgisnacht and no more Madoka as she disappeared from this timeline.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Finally they had arrived at Mitakihara High, one of the best schools in the country. Still, Sayaka always thought Hitomi should have been in a more prestigious school, given her monetary standing, as she was the daughter of very renowned industrialists. Still, Hitomi always said that she wouldn’t have traded Mitakihara High for anything.

The school itself was very beautiful, decorated with a more modernist setting. Rumored to have once been a famous battle ground, then a factory, it had been repaired on the dawn of Mitakihara’s trading and thriving economy. The building now sported unbreakable and beautiful glass classrooms that made use of a natural energy source to lighten the place. Teachers and students could see each other and gave a feeling of companionship, although to Homura, it felt more like paranoia with having everyone watching you everywhere. She had come to that conclusion when she transferred to Mitakihara for the first time and became the focus of attention for all eyes in all the first week. She thought she would go crazy from all the attention but thankfully that’s when she met Miki Sayaka and Shitsuki Hitomi who helped her accommodate to all these changes.

Entering the classroom, a smile on her face, school bag in her left hand and her inseparable red glasses in her face which gave her, in Sayaka’s words, “a very moe look”, Homura Akemi made her way to her seat and prepared for a wonderful day.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

“Now class, listen for I have something very important to say!” said the teacher Kazuko to her class with an obvious look of annoyance and rage. _Must have been rejected again_ thought Homura with pity, Kazuko was an middle aged woman with lots of love troubles, it seemed she couldn’t ever keep a lover for too long, thinking of her teacher with another man made Homura squeak and wish for some brain bleach.

While the teacher droned about boiled eggs and made poor Nazakawa-kun suffer with her questioning, Homura looked around the classroom. Sayaka was sleeping in her seat, a small trail of drool falling from her mouth to her desk, _typical_ , thought Homura. Her bluenette friend had never been quite fond of school, and Homura usually had to spend time helping her with her homework.

Not that she disliked that, having been always pretty lonely herself, she loved every chance to spend with other people.

Despite her brash, perverted streak and sometimes even rude attitude, Sayaka was very brave and hardworking, always willing to help others. _She is my best friend_ thought Homura while smiling at her.

Then was Hitomi, quiet and trying to pay attention to all Kazuko said, even if it was pointless. Being the child of two rich parents, she had inherited a vast fortune and should have been a spoiled child in a spoiled rich kid’s school. She was all the opposite, kind, polite and caring. She was the archetype of a traditional wife. Homura felt she wouldn’t mind becoming her… _what? Where did that thought come from?!?!?_ Wondered Homura as her cheeks started reddening. She wasn’t into those things, maybe…

“Alright class, now I’ll present you a new transfer student. Come here Madoka!” said Kazuko with a cheerful smile. _So she chose to talk about eggs first?_ Homura wondered, not surprising as her teacher had a very characteristic way to her teaching…someone in the last rows echoed her thought. But it didn’t matter; everyone had eyes for the new transfer student.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Song: Yuki Kajiura – Conturbatio.

A small girl with pink hair came slowly to the classroom, as if struggling with every step she took.  Her hair was disheveled and tangled with two dull red ribbons that dangled lazily in her hair; one was dropping from her hair to her shirt. Black circles around her eyes, Madoka made her way to the classroom.

 _Finally, I’m here!_ Thought Madoka with boundless joy as she came to the classroom, it felt like an eternity after all she had gone through in the hospital, but now she would finally make it worth it, she had to. She almost felt she wouldn’t make it in time as she had overslept due to all those nightmares, she had ended sleeping close to the sun’s rising and she didn’t have time to take a bath nor eat breakfast. Given her current body state, which was to say the least, weak, she knew she would pay for it latter.

“Her name’s Madoka Kaname. She was in the hospital due to her heart condition. Given that she hasn’t been in school for a long time, please help her when you can!” said the teacher to her class, hoping they would be able to make Madoka feel more comfortable. “Madoka do you want to…” the teacher’s voice died on her throat as Madoka started to sob in front of the class.

“So…sorry, I’m just…so happy to be here” said Madoka between sobs, running a hand through her eyes trying to stop the tears.

“Hey what’s with her?” asked Sayaka to Homura, the black haired girl didn’t listen as she was trying to ascertain the feelings welling inside her chest. When the newcomer girl had entered the classroom, she had stared directly into Homura’s eyes.

Remembering her politeness and trying to make the transfer student feel more at ease, Homura had tried to give her a polite smile, but that fell flat as she felt distressed when looking at the pinkette.

Feeling the sudden urge to strangle her, Homura stood from her seat and ran towards the pinkette, putting both hands over her neck, Homura squeezed hard and Madoka’s eyes went wide with surprise while she squeaked as air left her lungs. Miss Kazuko tried to  pull Homura away from the transfer student to which Homura squeezed harder, Madoka struggled for several seconds, putting her hands over Homura’s trying to take her away but after several seconds that felt like an eternity, her hands felt limp to her sides.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Homura zoned back into reality. _What? Why did I think such dark things?_ Homura wondered to herself, horrorized that she may be able to do such a thing…one thing was certain though, she didn’t like this new student, as weird as that was. Focusing back on her logic, she decided to give Madoka a chance and get to know her first, _and then I can throttle her_ , whispered a darker voice in the back of her mind.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**************End of Chapter**************

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**End Notes / Rant:**

Tell me what you think! I’m yet to decide on Madoka’s abilities as a Puella Magi but have some good ideas of what I want for her.

Phew Madoka and Kyubey’s are the hardest for me to write as Madoka has that cheerful girl theme I can’t quite grasp while I try to make Kyubey sound smart and conniving ala **Gendou Ikari/Light Yagami/Lelouch** , no easy task.

Thanks again to **KiyumiArashi**  for his awesome review, it’s very inspiring to have them and hope you can enjoy this chapter. And thanks for your useful input; you gave me lots of ideas for Madoka! BTW you did read Persephone’s Waltz and in such a short time!?!?!? It took me almost a week for me, heheheh. It’s a really good story; my favorites are **Kizeki Magica** , **Persephone’s Waltz** and **Observation**. Oh and **A Happy Dream** when I’m looking for a good laugh, the jokes never get old, heheh. For a Fate/Puella Magi Crossover, there’s **The Xth Loop** where two of the most badass characters get to work together, and I got to enjoy the **HomuraxArcher** pairing, heheh.

To answer **Guess** , question, yeah, this is glasses Homura as she didn’t get tormented by the timelines, Madoka just made sure of that, basically she killed that Homura when making her wish, or assimilated her if you want to see it that way (less tragic). That doesn’t mean Homura can’t pack quite a punch as she was trained by her mother and is far more confident in her abilities and more stable.

I feel people are both the result of circumstances and what they make of them, so I wanted to explore what would have happened if Homura had been given the chance of living a normal life like Madoka, and vice versa. They have different approaches to things, so they’re not copies of each other.

I might write more on **Maiya** after all, if people are okay with that, she’s a really mysterious character with lots of potential, still, feel that no one got where she came from. She’s not my character; she’s from another one of **Urobuchi’s** amazing works and having her as Homura’s mother was just so fitting. But even more fitting is Homura’s father, if you get who he is, almost like a mirror, heheh.


	4. Transfer student - Part 2

**Libera Me from Hell**

**Chapter 4 - Transfer student – Part 2.**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Author Notes:**

Things haven’t been what I expected around here, trying to relax with this story. Wanted this chapter to be longer but time is not on my side right now, heheh.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

After one last glance at Homura, Madoka took her seat in the last rows where she could observe the whole scenery, her mission was clear, now all she had to do was work for it and wait the right moment…

Despite not having her best introduction, the rest of the girls tried to welcome Madoka to class, surrounding her, started asking the same questions she had heard over and over, _no, not me, Homura, keep your focus Madoka!_ she thought trying to keep herself together.

“So, Kaname-san, where do you come from?” said one of the girls, _she laughed at me when I passed out during warm-up, no, she laughed at Homura_ , thought Madoka as the memories of other timelines she never lived came into her mind.

“I come from a Christian school in Tokyo” answered Madoka while trying to keep her polite façade.

“Did you attend any clubs? Art clubs? Sport clubs?” asked another girl. _She smokes in the school’s bathroom and speaks badly of people behind their backs_ , Madoka’s mind answered her. She could point every one of that girl’s flaws; she knew them very well from all the repeated timelines, even ones where she had tried to incorporate them in her schemes, trying to make them Contract, only to end in a bloodbath with everyone witching out afterwards…

“No, I didn’t” said Madoka more serious, it was time to put her plan into action; she had to act while she still had the chance.

“Excuse me, but I don’t feel very well. I’ll ask the person in charge to take me to the infirmary.” said Madoka, not a full lie, as she was feeling dizzy already from the crowd’s attention and the unwanted information that was filtering into her brain. She wondered how Homura kept herself from going mad with all the data; then again, she hadn’t been very sane last time they had met…

Standing out from her seat, Madoka urged her body to move to where Homura was sitting, the dark haired girl getting stiff after noticing the pinkette approaching. It was obvious she was keeping tabs on Madoka’s location. _Oh Homura, never change_ , thought Madoka about her friend’s stalker-ish tendencies.

Homura kept casting sidelong glances at her while class passed, no doubt she was confused about the newcomer, but she still had no idea what to make of it. She was very interested in the new student; there was no doubt about that. To her surprise, the reason of her mental disarray went towards her without hesitation and stood staring at Homura’s eyes without flinching, Pink eyes stared at purple ones, and Madoka spoke.

“Hello, my name’s Madoka Kaname, I have to go to the infirmary in recess to take my medicine, can you take me there, please?” said the pinkette in the most happy tone she could manage, almost pleading for Homura to comply.

“Ehm…I’d like to…but the health representative should do it, it’s the rules” answered Homura serious, to Madoka’s astonishment, while pointing with her head towards another student.

“You expected her to be the health representative? Too bad, it’s Sayaka-chan!” answered a blue haired girl while grinning widely and making a victory sign. It was obvious she was proud of her status. “Now, come with me transfer student!” said Sayaka happily while getting a hold of Madoka’s arm.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

The hallway was a beautiful sight, glass walls that let people watch the scenery while keeping outside the heat lined the place, students staring at Madoka while she walked behind Sayaka who kept grinning and talking a lot.

“Welcome to Mitakihara, it’s a very nice place to be, we have lots of places like the music store, the park and the factories, oh but don’t get close to the industrial bay at midnight, things tend to get ugly there…they said there are ghosts, scary, isn’t it” said Sayaka while making a ghost imitation and laughing at herself.

Madoka meanwhile kept quiet staring at her longtime friend. It was hard to watch people you knew very well and being unable to tell them about it, she felt outside of time. Misplaced, she fought the urge to cry again, lest she be seen as a weirdo by everyone.

“So transfer student, what’s Tokyo like?” asked Sayaka suddenly interested in the new student.

“Uh…I…I don’t know” answered Madoka slight nervous, she didn’t want to remember those horrible months spent at the hospital. Just thinking about it, she felt the intoxicating stench of medicine, as if she was there again.

“Wha…? You don’t know? What did you do then?” wondered Sayaka, confused at this student’s weird behavior.  She was the health representative, but she wasn’t used to take care of such fragile students, she felt that if she spoke too loud Madoka would break into pieces.

“I…spent a lot of time at the hospital, I couldn’t go out” said Madoka, obviously not wanting to continue that conversation.

“Oh…” was all Sayaka said. And so, with their conversation dead, they kept walking in silence, Sayaka thinking about what she would eat when recess came and Madoka looking at the floor, lamenting her plan to talk with Homura had been ditched. _Why didn’t I anticipate she wouldn’t be the health representative, stupid, stupid!_

“Well, here it is, take care transfer student” said Sayaka pointing at the infirmary.

“Thank you…Sayaka-chan” said Madoka softly, almost like a whisper before she entered the infirmary.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Having lost her chance, Madoka decided to take a more direct approach. And so, as recess came, she went over to Homura.

“Hello Homura, I mean…Akemi-san” said Madoka reminding they weren’t in close terms this time, her cheeks turning pink at the slip.

“Erm…Homura is fine. What is it? Kaname-san?” answered Homura, slightly nervous, not sure what to make of the pinkette. Still, she gave the pinkette a smile trying to make her feel at ease and not troubled about asking.

“Do you have some minutes?” asked Madoka once again looking straight at Homura’s eyes, a look of determination etched in her face.

Homura looked at Sayaka and Hitomi who shrugged, “I’ll be right back” Homura spoke to the duo and looking at Madoka spoke, “wanna go somewhere else?”

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Going to the roof, where they would have more privacy, a place that Homura loved when she wanted to be free from the stress of all the people and as a place of contemplation, they sat in one of the benches there, the pinkette looking peaceful, albeit tired. “So, Kaname-san, what is it that you wanted to talk about?” asked Homura in earnest.

Madoka decided to get to the point. “I just wanted to ask this, Homura, are you happy?” Her question was simple, but the meaning behind it was huge, _did I do the right thing? Was it worth it? Did my suffering pay off in the end?_

“Isn’t that quite personal Kaname-san?” answered Homura, not expecting that question. Certainly this new student was very weird, still, no reason to not be polite. Focusing on her life, thinking of all good moments she lived, going out with Sayaka and Hitomi, spending afternoons talking with her mom. “But, yes, I’m very happy” said Homura with a slight smile across her lips. The answer was simple, but it meant the world to Madoka.

“I’m so happy Homura-chan; that it was all worth it in the end” said Madoka, like a child in Christmas, smiling greatly at Homura that seemed confused at Madoka’s answer. Suddenly, Madoka started feeling a weird impulse, feeling an urge not from her, but from a black haired girl that died trying to save her, Madoka started getting closer to Homura, her face only inches of the confused black haired girl standing in front of her.

“Ka…Kaname-san? What are you doing?” spoke Homura almost in a whisper, unable to understand what was happening, the pinkette was so close, and she could feel her breath in her face, and she…didn’t dislike it…

Madoka got a hold of Homura’s waist with her left hand while her right hand rested on her shoulder, getting closer, Madoka closed her eyes. “I…just…want to…” she wasn’t thinking rationally, she was intoxicated with Homura’s presence, she wanted her, and she needed her.  She knew it was wrong, she knew those thoughts weren’t hers, but she just felt the impulse taking over her mind.

“Kaname-san, please, stop” said Homura weakly. Madoka was so close to her face, and she didn’t know that to do…

Suddenly a bento box came flying from nowhere and hit Madoka in the head, separating her from the black haired girl and knocking her to the floor. Madoka clutched her head in pain, closing her eyes as she groaned and rubbed the place where she had been hit.

“Get away from her!” spoke Sayaka angry at Madoka for assaulting Homura, she just wanted to hit that student, how dare she? “I thought you were okay, but you’re a creep!” spoke Sayaka in a harsh tone, resisting the impulse to keep shouting at Madoka after watching her begin to tear.

“Sayaka…” said Madoka as tears began to flow from her eyes. “I…I didn’t want to…” spoke Madoka, sobbing.

“It…it’s okay” said Homura trying to come to terms to what had just happened and keep the calm; she always disliked to pick fights unnecessarily.

“It’s not okay! She just tried to attack you!” said Sayaka while staring at the sobbing form of Madoka in the floor. It was hard to stay angry at the crumpled figure so she instead decided to get away before a teacher could reprimand them. “Come Homura, let’s go” said and grabbed Homura by the hand. The black haired girl didn’t resist and only looked at Madoka as she walked, not sure of what to say.

“Ple…please, just one more thing” began Madoka, standing and wiping the tears from her eyes, “Homura Akemi, don’t try to change who you’re…otherwise, you will lose everything”, and with that, she went away not looking back at the other girls.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

That afternoon Homura walked home in a daze, confused about that day’s developments, it had certainly been a weird day, and that transfer student was certainly a case. She had tried to make friends with her, and what did she get? Cryptic answers and a rape attempt for her efforts…

She breathed the fresh afternoon air while looking at the sun setting in the horizon. She liked that vista, she felt it helped her relax and keep her thoughts in order. Walking home slowly, the better to ease her mind, Homura went without paying attention at the scenery.

“You better hurry up and make the Contract, if you don’t want to die” whispered a malicious voice next to her. A girl, pretty much her age, walking in the opposite direction, black messy uneven hair, and cold amber eyes that seemed to glow with their own light, sporting Mitakihara’s uniform. Homura turned her head towards her and the other girl gave a fanged grin, disappearing afterwards without leaving a trace.

When she felt the day couldn’t be weirder, now she was also imagining things. Maybe Madoka’s madness was contagious, she thought as she kept walking home…

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**End Notes / Rant:**

So here it is, the plot will begin developing from now on.

Also thanks to **Guess** for the nice idea, I just want more time to get Maiya’s story, so much potential, and I already have everything planned out, from beginning to end. Hope to one day get to write it, hopefully in parallel with this one.

And to **Timmy Sparx** , I make no promises, but have high hopes for this one. I’ll try to make this a story that will “warm your heart”, heheheh.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

 


	5. It might be good

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Libera Me from Hell**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Author Notes:**

I'm so excited about the  **"Madoka you can *NOT* succeed"**  movie that goes out this  **October** , and to add to the excitement  **Ufotable**  announced that they will be making another Fate project, with hopes that they'll finally animate my favorite route, **Heaven's Feel** , Kotomine at his best and Shirou finally not being so stupid. This is an awesome year!

I wanted to delay this as long as possible while I worked in my story  **"The life and hardships of Hisau Maiya"**  but if I wait till the plot starts this one will be left in a permanent limbo, so…lets catch from where we left off!

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Chapter 5 – It might be good.**

**Song: Yuki Kajiura – Umbra Nigra**

A darkened alley, water pipes and shafts sprouting everywhere; a floor filled with litter that left an awful smell of rotten trash to the senses and a disturbing calm only partially interrupted by the clatter of a pair of shoes that made its way evenly as the pink haired girl walked out of what had once been a witch barrier, holding a round blackened object with a needle like tip at the bottom; a Grief Seed.

The pinkette walked calmly in full Puella Magi regalia as she heard another pair of tiny feet behind her, she didn't even turn around as she knew who it was, ' _about time you appeared_ ' thought Madoka at the Incubator's presence. "Kyubey" she said softly, almost in a whisper, trying to mask the contempt she felt towards the little white critter as she gave a very distinctive SHAFTTM head tilt, the only sign of acknowledgement towards the offending presence as her memories started telling her of how dangerous this particular individual was.

"Hello! I don't remember having Contracted you" Kyubey said stopping behind Madoka as she transformed back into civilian clothes. "Where might you be from?" asked the mascot as cheerful as ever, in the same cute voice of his as he stared at Madoka with his huge floppy head and cold red eyes, analyzing the situation. If she hadn't known how Machiavellian and dangerous the Incubator could be, Madoka would have squealed at the sight of such a cute animal, resembling more a plushy toy than a dangerous alien intelligence. She knew better than to be fooled by his cute appearance and only sighed.

"That's none of your business, Kyubey" answered back Madoka while resisting the urge to call him his true name and spilling too much information that he could use against her. Better to keep things in the dark until she had procured a strategic advantage. ' _God I'm sounding more and more like Homura_ ', Madoka couldn't avoid observing that fact, to her chagrin. "What matters is that I'm a magical girl, and I've come here to protect this city from the witches" answered Madoka calmly while staring at the red eyes of the Incubator.

"I'm afraid that won't do" said the Incubator while looking at Madoka unfazed, "as this area is already under the protection of another Magical Girl, right…Mami?" said the Incubator as he stared to a darkened alley far beyond Madoka's reach, from which a blonde girl came walking slowly, pointing a musket directly at Madoka's head.

The girl was dressed in a beautiful ranger suit, brown boots that came up to the knees with black stripped stocking covering her legs; a beautiful yellow skirt with black linings along with a white suit finished by a corset which enhanced her…attributes which was finished with long white and soft vests up to her arms.

Madoka stared at her hands covered in brown gloves with the fingers cut adorned her hands as she held the musket with a preternatural grace and a white feathered hat adorned her head.

Madoka stared in awe at her former mentor figure, as her mind started filling with memories from timelines in which they interacted; struggling to make sense to all the information which somehow pointed at Mami being a dangerous threat but she did her best to ignore it but found herself lost in a memory against her will; on it, she felt extreme sadness at the loss of Sayaka that she had been forced to strike down after she became the deadly Oktavia von Seckendorff. Clutching at her chest and letting tears flow freely from her eyes to her glasses, making more difficult to see and distracting her at the worst moment as she heard a gunshot going off and a grunt of surprise coming from Kyouko. Madoka could see from Homura's eyes as the redhead let out a grasp of surprise as her Soul Gem shattered in front of her eyes and she slumped to the ground, dead.

She didn't even have the time to get surprised though as she found her body strangled by a yellow ribbon that appeared from thin air and wrapped itself around her body as if it was a candy wrapper from Charlotte's labyrinth. "Tomoe?" said Madoka in Homura's body as she struggled to free herself from the ribbons and stared at the sobbing face of her loved mentor.

"If the Soul Gems turn us into witches, our only alternative is to die!" shouted Mami out of her mind while pointing a musket at Homura with trembling hands. ' _No please, stop it'_ thought Homura while staring at the yellow Puella Magi that had lost her head from the shock as she readied the musket to fire at Homura's Soul Gem. Homura struggled in vain against the bonds, not able to grasp her buckler to buy herself time; it was over...

"Please don't!" said Homura as the blonde pressed the trigger. Everything went so fast, one moment Mami pointed the musket and pressed the trigger, and the next, a pink bolt of light flashed over Mami's head and broke her Soul Gem into thousands of yellow pieces. The blond let out a grasp of surprise as she lost her balance and fell to the side, the musket letting go its ribbon bullet several meters away from Homura. Madoka felt Homura's incredulity and horror at what had happened, but felt her drive to compose herself as she had to tend to a sobbing Madoka before she too was consumed by despair...

Madoka shook her head as she let go of such a horrible memory, barely able to believe Mami would do such a thing, and focused on the ways her 'sempai' had helped her, guided her since rescuing her from Gertrude's familiars, giving her something to believe in, a role model, up to being consumed by Charlotte's hungry maws. Madoka shoot at the memory of Mami staring in shock along with everybody as Charlotte unveiled its true form, a maddened clown with a huge maw filled with sharp rows of teeth that made its way to the stunned blonde and trapped her head between its teeth, lifting her from the ground while Madoka stared along with Sayaka as her ideal was crushed along with the horrible sound of bond snapping. She felt her blood run cold as the blonde's body separated itself from her head and fell to the ground below, where Charlotte promptly rushed over to devour her whole...

' _But not this time, for now I have the chance to do something about it'_ thought Madoka while staring at her former mentor. To Madoka's eyes the girl was quite beautiful, her vibrant eyes shining with a light of their own although giving a distinct air of melancholy as if she had lost something precious to her; in many ways she had, and blonde hair in twin drills, giving her an air of elegance and majesty to her frame.

For a moment Madoka let herself lost in the radiance of her former mentor and the happiness of seeing her again, alive and well; her eyes widened and a her lips curved into a smile as she felt her feet moving on their own towards where Mami stood, wanting to give Mami a strong embrace and never let her go again, but quickly recoiled when Mami stiffened and pointed the musket threatening, giving her a calculating stare.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" said Mami in the same serious tone, a tone that Madoka had never thought she would hear to the sweet and caring sister figure she had of Mami Tomoe; somehow it hurt her as she felt a pain in her chest at watching someone she had loved so dearly acting like a stranger to her, ' _so this is what Homura felt_ ', thought Madoka.

"Answer me now, this is my hunting ground, you know?" said the yellow Puella Magi as her finger tightened on the trigger of her musket, which returned Madoka to reality as she frantically thought of what to do. Her memories raced as she sought the answer to this problem, ' _she can't know the secret of the Soul Gems or she'll break, and I can't go against her, she'll kill me_ ' but I can use this…

**Song: Sis Puella Magi – Soft version.**

"I…I'm new here…" said Madoka sheepishly as she stared at the blonde in all innocence, "I had no idea this was your area, sorry about that, but I just recently contracted and I still can't get the hang of it" she gave out a small laugh while clutching the back of her head which helped defuse the tense blonde as she continued.

"Maybe we could hunt together, I'd really like it if we could be companions, you know?" finished Madoka giving out a huge smile and putting on her best impression of innocence. ' _In another magical girl this wouldn't have worked, but by taking advantage of Tomoe Mami's feelings of loneliness we can make her cooperate with us_ ' whispered a dark voice that was very similar to the one of Akemi Homura deep within Madoka's head, she felt guilty about playing Mami like that, but if it was what it took to protect her, then so be it; Madoka felt herself reassured and let out a breath of relief as Mami vanished the musket and approached the pinkette with more confidence.

"And from your uniform I presume you're from Mitakihara, are you in second grade?" said Mami still slightly wary of Madoka as she got within talking distance of her, a hand outstretched and ready to summon a binding ribbon in case the pinkette proved hostile; she had faced her own share of battles over the territory in her Puella Magi venture and this wouldn't be the first nor last time she would be backstabbed.

"Yes, I'm in second grade of Mitakihara, class 1A" said Madoka with honesty trying to gain Mami's trust a second time. "I recently moved here alone as my mom is…well…" said Madoka as her features darkened and she did her best to keep from bursting into tears; it was all Mami needed to finally drop her reluctance; she knew what it was like to be alone and unloved.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell." said Mami reassuringly trying to console Madoka. "Actually I…" she stopped herself and instead changed the topic, "I haven't had a companion in a long time…" said Mami, her features taking on a nostalgic tone as she talked, "it…it might be good…by the way, my name's Mami Tomoe, what might be yours?" she asked, with no little hope in her voice as she tried her best to sound the older of the two.

"Madoka Kaname, nice to meet you Mami!" said Madoka in an honest cheerful voice as she raised her hand to greet the blonde girl in front of her, quickly recovering from the painful memories.

Madoka's enthusiasm was contagious and soon the blonde girl found herself smiling despite her attempts at being serious.

"It seems I'll enjoy working with you Madoka Kaname" said Mami as she shook the pinkette's hand with hers, feeling the warmth of human contact she hadn't allowed herself in a long time…

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Homura came home that night after having taken a big walk through the city. Watching the sunset and then feeling the fresh night wind in her skin had certainly done wonders to her mind as she felt relaxed and ready to eat dinner, take a bath and go to sleep.

' _I guess I'll just ask Kaname to accompany us to hang out afterschool_ ' thought Homura happy after having thought for some time what she wanted to do about the new transfer student. She had been a transfer student once after all, and she knew how lonely it felt when coming to a new school, meeting new people…even if she was weird and sometimes made Homura feel distaste, something she still couldn't understand, but Homura had the idea that with time and companionship they might become good friends. And so she marched forwards while breathing the fresh night air but her smile turned into a slight frown as she saw the lights to her house turned off.

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Cor Destructum**

_'Weird, mom usually doesn't leave the lights off except when_ …'the frown in Homura's face deepened as she picked up the pace and made her way to the door. Quickly she took out her keys and opened the door with a slight creak as she made her way inside.

The house was built many years ago before they moved in, an old European style building located at the northwestern part of Mitakihara City; close to the train station and the commercial sector of the city, which made it an ideal location to live in. It was rumored that the house once belonged to a group of European aristocrats that had once been the contractors of Homura's father and that had used the building as a minor base of sorts for whatever it was they were looking for, leaving it abandoned after it lost its usefulness. Homura couldn't believe someone would abandon such a magnificent residence, but certainly they were very rich and powerful to not even consider reclaiming such a property, and weird, they were rumored to have been practitioners of magecraft, not that she believed in such things. What were their names again? Einz…Einzberg? Not that it mattered, something was certainly wrong here.

The corridor was so dark that Homura couldn't make out anything in the oppressive darkness that covered everything. Cautiously but quickly, she made her way inside, closing the door with an ominous feeling.

Her steps echoed within the house as the old wood in the floor creaked after every step she took; she made her way to the main hall calling out for her mother but no answer came. Suddenly, the sound of glass rolling on the floor caught her attention making her stiffen.

"Mom? Is that you?" asked Homura cautious to the direction where the sound had come from, the kitchen. Approaching carefully and without making any sound, she entered the room and put her hand on the light switch, turning the lights on. ' _No, not again_ …' was the only thing that registered in her mind as she felt a knot forming in her chest.

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Confessio**

Her mother was on the floor, a bottle of whisky in one hand while she stared at the ceiling covering her eyes with her other hand to block the light from her vision and mumbling nonsense to no one in particular. Homura quickly got besides her and tried to lift her from the ground, making a big effort to ignore the stench of liquor she was giving off. "Mom, stand up. Can you hear me?" said Homura while struggling to lift her mother from the ground.

"It's useless, he won't return… all lost" said her mother, eyes closed from the pain of the light in her eyes, she continued without paying attention to anything in particular as she got a hold of Homura's back with her hand while clutching the almost empty bottle in her other hand. "The war…leaving me…for that damned cup!" she said with rage registering in her voice while Homura felt more and more worried about her mother's wellbeing.

It wasn't a common occurrence, but one of the reasons they had moved away from Fuyuki was to prevent her mother from remembering, because whenever she remembered, she drank, and when she drank…tears started forming in Homura's eyes. Her mother had sworn she would leave it and start anew, a new life…that was the promise. Homura took the bottle with a hand while struggling with her mother's weight, Maiya tried to take back the bottle but the drunkenness was taking full effect and couldn't keep up with Homura's swift movements, who proceeded to empty the contents in the sink.

"Come mom, let's go to bed" Homura said softly to her mother while urging her to walk towards the stairs, being careful to not drop her as she wobbled to the sides due to the effects of the beverage. ' _She promised…_ ' was all Homura could think of.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

After struggling towards the stairs Homura was finally able to put her mother in bed and covered her with a blanket while she stared directly in her mother's eyes, which had dried tears as she kept mumbling about this 'war', this 'holy Grail' and how everything had been lost.

"Mom…you need to stop drinking" said Homura decisively trying to convince her mother figure, "it won't do you any good, and the past…I…I know it's painful, but you need to let it go" she said with more confidence in her voice. After all, obsessing over the past was as useless as trying to revive the dead, wasn't it?

"But I can't!" replied Maiya in her bed, having recovered some of her reason after her 'breakdown', "he…he's gone…my reason to fight…all gone…" she said while more tears came from her eyes as she stared at her daughter in between sobs.

"That's not true mom! You have me, and I'll always stay by your side" answered Homura with tears in her own eyes at looking at her ideal in such a broke state, "forever and always, please, if you can't do it for you, then do it for me, can you?" she said tenderly.

Her mother seemed to be in deep conflict for a moment before she finally answered: "I…I'll try…"

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

After her mother finally fell asleep Homura made her way to her bedroom; all energy and cheer she had felt the moment before gone as she made her way to her bed. It must have been past 12 she recognized, as she got into her purple pajamas and left her glasses by her bedside while plopping into bed. ' _She promised'_  was the only thing she could think of; over and over.

**Song: Yuki Kajiura – Sis Puella Magi**

'If you want her to stop drinking there's something you can do!' spoke a cheerful voice in her head which put Homura on edge, the voice felt soothing and strangely familiar but at the same time left her with a feeling of unease, as if she was dealing with something not meant for humans to deal with.

"And what could that be?" said Homura to no one in particular, almost in a whisper. If there was something she could do, anything, to make her mother feel better, she would do it.

'Just make a Contract with me! And…', the voice was abruptly cut off, which left Homura awaiting for the answer to her problems. It never came, she felt annoyed but at the same time relieved. It would do no good if she suddenly started losing her mind and listening to imaginary voices in her head after all.

Taking off the blankets over her, Homura made her way to her computer and started writing, a sudden bout of inspiration striking her as she prepared to release her stress and frustration in her stories. "A Contract, that might be a good story…" whispered Homura as she started typing away, losing herself in her story.

'Not like I would have been able to sleep anyway' she thought grimly as she typed away.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura – Anima Mala**

The white floppy head feel down on the pavement, rolling as it stopped at the feet of Madoka, the girl clad in her Puella Magi uniform, from which she quickly detransformed. She felt weak, her legs trembling from the strain of keeping up with Mami as she made her way through the city patrolling.

Afterwards while on patrol, Madoka's stomach had revolted against the lack of food and they had ended in Mami's apartment to eat cake and tea, Madoka felt truly wonderful at having another chance to taste Mami's excellent recipes one more time. 'And more to come' she reassured herself. She wouldn't let the blonde girl die this time.

Now she was going solo and decided to visit Homura's apartment to make sure her friend was alright but to her horror she spotted the Incubator staring directly across Homura's window in the second floor, obviously communicating something and tempting with his promises of wishes. But not for long as Madoka quickly made her way to where the Incubator was sitting and promptly separated his head from his body. She felt slightly appalled at what she had just done and tried to remember that 'it' had neither feelings nor sensation of pain.

Madoka quickly hid as she saw Homura standing from her bed and going towards her computer to type something in there. At first she had been afraid the black haired girl had spotted her as she didn't want to risk being seen as a weirdo or stalker, leaving an even worse impression on her friend than she had already. ' _Then again, what I'm doing right now could be considered stalking…'_  thought Madoka about her current action, but what else could be done about it against such an ever present being as the Incubator?

' _My my, I thought we were in the same team_ ' said a cheerful voice in her mind as she stared directly at the shadow another of Kyubey's bodies left in the window. The little ferret quickly made its way with swift grace towards where his discarded body laid and started cannibalizing the old one as he made eating sounds, ' _gross_ ' was all Madoka could think before she replied to the Incubator.

' _We are, but I'm afraid I cannot let you make more Contracts in this city, Mami and me are going to take care of it after all_ ' answered Madoka telepathically to the Incubator while trying to keep her calm façade.

' _Maybe but more company never hurts, does it?'_ replied the Incubator while trying to get a reaction out of Madoka, with a hint of satisfaction at the frown that started forming in Madoka's face, ' _or it might be that you're afraid of more competition…?'_ he finished. His ways were indirect, but the result was obvious, 'tell me what you know…'

' _That won't be necessary'_  was Madoka's simple reply while her lips curved into a smile, in nostalgia. ' _We two are more than enough to take care of the witches so I suggest you leave this girl alone'_

' _Well I believe it's up to her to decide, don't you think?'_  insisted Kyubey, ' _that girl has an enormous amount of potential, maybe as much as yours, Madoka'_  said the Incubator without flinching a bit, Madoka felt nervous staring at those dead eyes, she didn't remember he could be so creepy.

' _I'm sorry but I cannot let you do that'_ was Madoka's only reply.

' _So that's how it will be, you keep trying to prevent these Contracts, let's see if you can keep up'_ answered Kyubey, almost challenging Madoka and then started walking away before vanishing from sight.

Madoka breathed in relief as she got her back against a column in Homura's window, having attained a small victory against the Incubator but unsure of how long she would be able to do it.

"This will be a long night…" said Madoka as she started her guard.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

It had been a calm night for Kyouko Sakura as she made her way through Kasamino; she had spent the day strolling around in her favorite arcade playing Dog Drug Reinforcement to her hearts contempt after having 'borrowed' a passenger's wallet.

Afterwards she had gone witch hunting and had procured four brand new Grief Seeds from the witch population, which she considered weird given the fact that this city, unlike Mitakihara was usually low in witches due to the amount of magical girls that fought in the territory. Also unlike Mitakihara, the territories were less defined and constant as magical girls usurped other's territories and the older and most powerful were disposed of by tense alliances that ended up cutting each other's throats after the threat was over. Such constant infighting kept giving new blood and prevented one girl or group from holding power for too long, ' _just like in the animal kingdom_ ' thought Kyouko, she preferred it that way…

She was used to fighting them and kicking their asses for Kyouko Sakura was a survivor, but she had seen less and less of them lately, along with an increase in the witch population. It was a strange phenomenon that nonetheless gave her ample opportunity to stack on Grief Seeds and gave some excitement to her life.

And so, Kyouko made her way through the city in her green jacket and blue shorts, brown boots as she confidently walked through the drug and crime infested streets, her arms over her head and a stick of pocky in her mouth.

Suddenly she felt a spark of magical power, ' _a magical girl, huh_ ' she thought as she approached the source; she felt in the mood of a good fight and nothing would be better than to kick another newbie's ass and teach her a lesson about not intruding in 'her territory'.

"Hey you!" shouted Kyouko as she quickly ran towards where the girl had gone.

Upon noticing her, the girl shrieked and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction, towards the darkest parts of the alley. She was obviously a Puella Magi, dressed in an ornate frilled blue dress that flung up to her toes and that covered her arms up to her hands, along with an oval shaped gem that hung over her neck and that gave out a beautiful dark blue spark, like those found at the depth of the ocean. Still, she might had seen battle as her dress was torn on the side and blood flowed endlessly from her left leg where vicious red marks had been left; her hair disordered and a face of terror in her as she ran past Kyouko as fast as she could.

Kyouko wondered what she had fought that had left her that scared, ' _probably a witch_ ', she thought resolving to beating the living daylights out of her and THEN beating the information on this witch's location out of her, in that order, Kyouko gave out a malicious smile as she let herself be lost in the joys of hunting. She loved the thrill and the risks that came with hunting, whether it was witches or humans alike. She was the apex predator after all…

The girl cried as Kyouko started gaining advantage over her, trying to zigzag across the alleys in order to try to lose her pursuer, but Kyouko was smarter and she knew these places like the palm of her hand. So she quickly gained ground over the girl, ' _now she will turn towards this alley thinking it's another street when it's a dead end, such a fool_ ', Kyouko smirked at finally having caught up to her prey and preparing to teach this newbie a lesson or two about messing with another Puella Magi's territory.

And the girl fell right for it as she turned exactly in the direction Kyouko had planned, the redhead slowing her pace to enjoy the moment. Her plans where cut short though when she heard an inhuman cry of pain and the sound of ripping of flesh with the snapping of bones exactly from where the girl had gone.

Kyouko's eyes widened at it and she approached carefully, taking a turn and materializing a spear to use against this foe, whatever it was. The girl she had pursued was there alright, or at least Kyouko could spot her head among the scattered flesh and ripped dress that laid in a pool of blood at her feet.

In front of the redhead, another girl, giving off an air of malice as she licked the huge vicious claws in her hand stared directly at the redhead while in her other hand she grasped a shiny blue Soul Gem covered in blood that was quickly losing its light. The girl was sporting a black gothic suit with the neck upwards, giving her a vampiric aura, black boots and white stockings covered in the other Puella Magi's blood while one of her eyes was covered with a black patch, a vicious grin that never left her as she raised the blue Soul Gem and licked the blood out of it in delight.

"Another prey, huh, looks like it's my lucky day!" spoke the Puella Magi in Kyouko's direction with a childish tone, as if she had just found another toy to play with.

"Oh you have no idea what you got yourself into" replied Kyouko not in the least intimidated by the other girl's actions, she had faced untold horrors and abominations before, she wouldn't let herself be intimidated by another Puella Magi. Kyouko raised her spear and pointed it directly at the other girl while adopting a battle stance.

**Song: Yuji Kajiura - Agmen Clientum**

"We'll see if you keep that smile when I bring lady Oriko your severed head" said the other girl pocketing the blue Soul Gem in her suit and readying her claws to her sides.

"Bring it!" said Kyouko as the other Puella Magi ran towards her.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**CHAPTER END**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**End Notes / Rant:**

Saw pictures of Kirika's Puella Magi suit and it is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while, wish Homura had something like that, heheh.

Tried to drop the chan and san from the names as I felt it was beginning to annoy me. As someone posted previously grammar is important; I'll also be glad if you spot glaring orthography or grammar errors as English is not my main language but I'm trying to improve it.


	6. Common morning

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Libera Me from Hell**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Author Notes / Super Rant:**

Phew at long last this one is ready to publish, took me a long time!

Nothing is more inspiring than getting such wonderful and detailed reviews! Thanks guys! I’m really glad you are enjoying the story so far. BTW improved last chapter to make Mami’s section less convulted because as many pointed it was the weakest part and the one I liked the least along with a superficial fix to chapter one “ **I wish** ” to make it more in accord with the rest of the story.

Also it was such a joy to get news and review from **Grimgrendel** , the one that inspired this story to begin with, thanks man/madam/dude/dudette? and hope you can get to enjoy it! You have no idea how much it means!

Been checking on TV tropes, and despite how wrong and how much I dislike the green mugi, I’m making an effort to avoid **Ron the Death Eater** for her character and hopefully not pull a **The Scrappy** or a **Sue** on what comes next. Any ideas, suggestions or complaints are welcome!

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Chapter 6 – Common Morning (Rescue XD)**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

“Mitakihara news presents --- Now on national events, an explosion on the southeastern sector of the city of Kasamino razed down two apartment blocks; the causes of the explosion are still unknown but authorities believe to have been caused by a gas leakage that accumulated on a back alley in the rundown sector of the district. At least 7 human causalities have been reported along with 20 other injured which the authorities have relocated to Kasamino’s General Hospital. And now for international news, another sighting of the mysterious man bat…” Mami Tomoe stared blankly at the TV screen while washing the dishes non-stop, no longer paying attention to the news. Her attention was on a distant place and time…and a very special someone that now lived in Kasamino.

“What have you been up to…Kyouko?” she found herself saying to no one in particular. It had been almost a year since she had last seen the redhead which made her reflexively clutch her chest at the memories of their relationship and the painful departure of Kyouko left her all alone.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Ubi Eam**

“Rosso Fantasma!” shouted Kyouko at the top of her lungs as she jumped out of the way of the witch’s attacks, her cheeks tinted red and noticeable even from the platform Mami was grounded and trying to hold down the witch with her ribbons. The witch, a hybrid between a bird and a human, huge and skeletal frame with wings instead of arms that were set aflame as the beast screamed a shrill voice between a bird cackling and a human that made Mami want to cover her ears as they started bleeding, ‘ _endure, have to endure…’_ recited Mami to maintain her focus on the ribbons that bound the witch as close to eight Kyouko’s launched themselves and severed parts of the beast.

The flaming wings fell down and the beast let out another scream as it used its feet to try to trample Mami. Taking advantage of it, the blonde shifted her ribbons and ensnared its legs to use the witch’s own weight to make it fall to the ground. The earth shook as the witch made its way to the floor and Mami rolled to the side to avoid being struck by the witch’s head as it fell on the ground and droplets of red flew from the floor, drenching Mami on it.

“Ugh” said Mami as she stared at the beast trying uselessly to stand up and her now stained dress.

“Ready for the oven!” said Kyouko as she stared at the witch.

“Oven? What do you mean Kyouko?” said Mami confused at her apprentice’s strange phrase while wiping the red smears from her face.

“Well this thing here tastes like wine and we have a chicken so…” said Kyouko while grabbing some of the red fluid with her finger and licking it happily to Mami’s horrified expression.

“You tasted that thing Kyouko?! Gross!” said Mami to which the redhead just laughed. “But well, I’ll reprimand you later, let’s finish this!” the blonde continued as her attention focused back on the witch while throwing an object into the air. Rising and winking at her only spectators, Mami summoned a huge ribbon and quickly transformed it into a canon, pointing directly at the witch’s head.

“Tiro Finale!” shouted Mami at the top of her lungs and a huge yellow blast fell towards the witch, incinerating it. Falling on the ground Mami curtsied briefly as she spun around with preternatural grace and caught the cup of tea in her hand to Kyouko’s applause. The two girls smiled at each other as the barrier crumbled to dust.

“Geez that barrier made me hungry Mami!” said Kyouko while rubbing her stomach for emphasis.

“You’re always hungry Kyouko…” said Mami while chuckling at her apprentice’s antics. “But I believe that’s it for today, let’s go to my apartment and I’ll treat you something” said the blonde smiling contently as they walked away from the alley; she had never been so happy in her life.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

She was in the ground, clutching her stomach where a huge gash bled constantly while trying to hold back the tears as Kyouko stood several meters away while clutching her spear; not daring to look at her in the eyes. The setting sun contrasting with her darkened features as she repeated over and over, ‘ _I’m all alone, I’m all alone…’_

“Sorry for not being what you expected” said the redhead while looking away from the blonde in front of her, her hands clutching her spear with all her strength while doing her best to not relent on her decision.

“Sakura…?” said the blonde with the tears falling freely, ‘ _please don’t leave me’_

“Goodbye, Tomoe Mami” said Kyouko while retreating from the pitiful figure on the ground, ‘ _it’s for the best’_

“I’m…all alone again…” Mami lowered her head while trying to keep her control as she saw her Soul Gem darkened considerably while tears fell from her eyes.

“One day, you’ll definitely find…someone better who’ll be your friend…” was Kyouko’s reply as she backed away and disappeared from sight.

Mami cried all night until finally falling asleep.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

The blonde returned to reality and stared at the glass she had been cleaning for several minutes, ‘ _it won’t get any cleaner’_ she chuckled to herself sighing and putting it in the counter.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura – Scaena felix**

The morning sun greeted Madoka as she slowly opened her eyes and stretched her tired body, everything ached and she felt cold after having finally fallen asleep over Homura’s rooftop.

“So much for a watch” said Madoka tiredly as she rubbed her eyes with her right hand and looked at Homura’s window; her friend was nowhere on sight which must mean she had already woken up and would be out of the house anytime.

‘ _Must move quickly’_ thought Madoka as she closed her eyes and focused on her Soul Gem resting in her hand; the Gem quickly reformed from the ring into its usual form as she felt the tingling of magic running across her fingertips, through her arm and filling her body with warmth as she tried to locate Homura’s position.

Suddenly Madoka’s senses expanded across Homura’s home filling her mind with information. Homura was currently in her mother’s bedroom, her mother still asleep from last night and her heart was beating slowly as she kissed her mother in the cheek and prepared to go to school. Madoka could hear Homura’s breath and she could picture her going through the stairs towards the front door.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura – Scaena felix**

Homura felt paranoid that morning; as if someone was watching her everywhere but tried to not think much of it as she greeted her still sleeping mother and prepared to go to school with heaviness in her heart as she dressed. She felt tired after having spent the whole night writing but it had been worth it as she now handed several sheets of paper that she intended to read to the books club members. Even though the sun was barely visible in the horizon and classes wouldn’t start in several hours, Homura wanted to start the meeting as soon as possible as it always helped her relax a little and prepare for what was to come in class so most of the club’s meetings started early in the morning.

Homura breathed loudly as she opened the front door, visualizing herself a great day ahead as she went out. ‘ _Everything’s right, open the door, close the door…’_ she was surprised to find a pink haired girl casually walking on the side of the street while painfully trying to look natural. Suppressing a smile, the black haired girl raised her hand to greet Madoka.

“Good morning, Kaname!” said Homura as she got a better view of the pinkette. She noticed the stained and crumpled Mitakihara uniform along with the even more ruffled hair than the day before and she wondered if the pinkette had bothered to take a bath or even change clothes…

“Oh hello Homura!” answered Madoka as she walked while doing her best not to fall due to the jagged asphalt that she herself had produced as she did her best to not be noticed by Homura sneaking in her house, some parts of it still producing thin billows of smoke that thankfully weren’t noticed by Homura.

“Are you going to school this early Kaname?” asked Homura as she walked up to the pinkette and bowed politely. _‘You’re not stalking me again, right?’_ she thought hoping that she was just being paranoid.

“Umm…yeah…I like going to school early!” said Madoka with a face that wouldn’t have convinced an eight year old.

“Right…” was Homura’s reply as she clutched her bag and prepared to go and then, against her better judgment she said. “Would you like to accompany me then Kaname?”

“I’d be glad to, Homura!” said Madoka eagerly while clutching her own crumpled bag. It was an ugly squared package which tended to hit her painfully in the ribs whenever she walked but it was cheap, and that was more than enough as long as her mother Junko kept sending her sparse money from time to time.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

The walk to school was quiet as Homura lifted her head to try to make small talk only to have Madoka do the same and having both shut up instead. The feeling of unease could be cut with a knife until Homura finally managed to compose herself enough to ask the thing that had bothered her for a long time.

“Say Kaname, about those warnings you gave me last time…what do you meant with them?” asked Homura to which the pinkette tensed.

 _‘I didn’t expect her to ask that…what should I do…tell her about him?’_ memories of Madoka contracting whenever she learned of the truth started filling her mind, from screaming Madoka’s to smiling and apologetic versions of herself flashing before her very eyes; it was certainly very creepy to see herself falling every time and feel the agony in Homura’s chest at her inevitable death. _‘But she isn’t me so it’s not a variable I can predict’_ whispered the dark voice that was Madoka but Homura at the same time and decided to tell only part of the truth until learning more of this version of her black haired friend.

“Ka…Kaname?” the pinkette heard Homura say, visibly apprehensive about suddenly having the pinkette freeze into place and unsure of what to do.

“I…It’s nothing Homura, I just spaced out” said the pinkette trying to reassure her friend while giving a small but cheerful laugh. “Before I answer you I’d like to know…say Homura…you believe in miracles?” asked Madoka more serious while looking at those purple eyes with her own warm pink ones.

**Song: Yuki Kajiura – Sis Puella Magi!**

‘ _What a girl, first weird, then cheerful and serious again…’_ thought Homura slightly surprised by such a sudden question. This girl was a wild card indeed…”Well…I have never experienced one personally but I’d like to believe they exist…I have no doubt if such happy events where possible, people would keep their hope” answered Homura while smiling widely

Madoka did her best to choke a laugh, a cynical laugh filled with something Homura couldn’t make out of her but suddenly gave her the feeling she wasn’t talking with Madoka at all but another person, colder and clinical after having witnessed great loss. She didn’t know what to do about it but suddenly felt more uncomfortable in the pinkette’s company.

“Sorry about that, it’s just that…you’re right, miracles do exist” said Madoka turning serious again but no longer sporting the cold cynical eyes Homura had just seen. It was weird to watch her change so suddenly. “But what no one tells you is the horrible price you have to pay for them…” Madoka continued.

 _‘That I can tell…and this I can’t…’_ thought Madoka as she continued her explanation to Homura while they kept walking. “As the teacher Kazuko said the first day I transferred, I had a heart disease. The doctors gave me two years of life at most” said Madoka while choking herself due to the pain of remembrance, a memory that wasn’t even hers which made it the most shocking, thinking of another’s death as if it was hers…

“I was frustrated, angry at the world for cutting short my chances to experience life. I was weak, I couldn’t even practice sports because my body would break down and I fell behind in my studies as I had to leave school for months at a time whenever my heart had complications.” said the Madoka that wasn’t Madoka.

“Then…a miracle happened. I prayed for a chance to cheat death and my heart was miraculously healed” said Madoka making Homura’s eyes widen in surprise at the prospect.

“I thought everything would be right from then on.” she gave a dry laugh, devoid of life. “I was such a fool to believe that for you see, they tell you that miracles solve things but what they don’t tell you is that all miracles have a price, and believe me when I tell you it’s too costly to pay” continued Madoka coldly, “Happiness and despair balance to zero as the goodness generates evil and the Universe keeps its balance; a good miracle will always generate an equivalent curse. Mine was an eternity of suffering and failure and believe me when I tell you it would have been easier to just be done there than to continue like this” she concluded with a pained expression in her features as she finished her tale.

“Wow, and how did you pay for that?” asked Homura visibly put off by the pinkette’s tale. _‘She’s a real loon’_ she thought but tried to avoid saying something that would be un-respectful to Madoka ‘ _or make her attack me…’_ her mind seconded.

“Sorry but that’s too personal, just keep in mind, wishing for a miracle is the worst thing that you can do” answered Madoka visibly stressed after having let out that information and unwilling to tell Homura the mechanism through which Kyubey acted lest she be tempted into making the Contract. “Besides, we’re already at school. Mind if I accompany you? I still don’t know a lot of people and I’d really like to see what all these clubs are about”.

The black haired girl looked around to see that effectively they were had just arrived and she hadn’t even noticed due to how engrossed she was with Madoka’s tale, and not just due to the warning but also a more selfish interest. _‘I could work with this for my story…wonder if she would mind if I use this or even notice…’_

“Yeah, I’d be glad to show you the club!” said Homura happy to focus on something less creepy and far more satisfactory. The school still had few students as activities would start in two hours so she had plenty of time to spare anyway.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

“Two hearts rusting together in a world without song, what do you see?” was the alarms tune which it kept playing at full volume as a hand grabbed it and threw the machine across the room where it impacted loudly against the wall, the glass on the delicate object cracking and leaving the alarm in the ground where it uselessly tried to keep playing “And I’m home’, sparks flying from it until it stopped playing altogether.

“Damn, this is the third one in the week!” groaned a bluenette girl as she stared at the object she had instinctively grabbed from her nightstand and thrown with tremendous force, cleaning her eyes with her hands and covering herself further under the bed.

 _‘Why must you schedule the club meetings so early Homura!?’_ the bluenette mentally groaned to herself unwilling to stand up and mumbling “5 minutes more…”. She wasn’t a particular book lover and went to the club mostly to support her friend along with trying to get an edge over Hitomi after Kyousuke had admitted to liking her as “more than a friend due to her intelligence and lady like personality”. Sayaka’s features darkened at the memory as she fell asleep.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Evangelion OST – Misato 01**

Sayaka and Homura were eating at the Urobuchi café they usually hanged out after school, Sayaka had ordered the Kiritsugu burger with extra despair (potatoes and what the owner referred to as Caster’s special sauce jokingly said to be made from little children among the students…) while Homura was simply drinking a cup of “Headless coffee”, (yeah, weird names like that) when they noticed Hitomi entering the place with a visibly angry expression.

“What’s the matter Hitomi?” asked Sayaka as she saw the green haired girl’s tired expression. “Did something happen with your tea club or something?”

“It’s another love letter, it’s so annoying!” said Hitomi as she grabbed another white envelope from her bag and handed it so the other girls could see. The letter was rather simple with very stylized and almost girl like writing on it.

_“Hope you liked the chocolates I sent you last time. Hope one day we can hang out and enjoy them together” – K_

“Wow Hitomi you’re so lucky with the boys! Not that we didn’t expect that from such a bombshell” laughed Sayaka after reading the letter and giving it to Homura that calmly read it while smiling slightly.

“Indeed, I’m really happy for you Hitomi” said Homura still smiling and handing the letter back to her friend.

“Oh Homura what are you smirking at? You want one too, don’t you?” said Sayaka while resting her arm over Homura’s shoulder and smirking widely.

“Well…it wouldn’t be bad to get one” said Homura shy as her cheeks reddened and she stared at the table as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Oi naughty girl! But I won’t let you, remember you are my waifu!” said Sayaka as she tried to tickle the smirking form of Homura that laughed quietly while Hitomi tried to regain control of the situation while also laughing slightly at her friends antics.

“Don’t tease her Sayaka, you’re making her uncomfortable! Besides...she might believe it” said Hitomi while putting a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, her eyes wide and not believing she had just said that.

“You too Hitomi? Heh looks like we’re rubbing up on you, maybe what happens is that you want to be my waifu too!” said Sayaka playfully while grinning at Hitomi.

“That…that’s forbidden love!” said Hitomi visibly flustered at what the bluenette had said.

“Just kidding!” said Sayaka while lifting her hands in defeat. “By the way, now that we’re on the subject of love, who do you like girls?” asked the bluenette while staring at the other two. Homura looked down while Hitomi got even redder.

“Oh come on, we’re friend right? Spill it!” insisted the bluenette when they didn’t seem to share.

“Well, I still haven’t met someone I’d be interested in” said Homura while looking at the table, “it would be nice, someday…” she said more confident as she tried to picture how her soul mate would look like and imagining a knight in shining armor from the stories she loved to read, “someone brave, and smart, and…pink haired” she finished and was startled at what she had just said, ‘ _what was the last thing?_

“Oh Homura you always so romantic” said Hitomi while smiling at her friend’s antics while Sayaka laughed loudly and putting a hand on her chin while thoughtful she said, “I…I might like someone, but it can’t happen” Hitomi said darkly while looking at the other girls.

“Wha…why not?” asked Homura while looking at her friend’s eyes.

“Circumstances…let’s leave it at that” said Hitomi and decided to address Sayaka while hoping they would keep their questions to the minimum “What about you Sayaka? Do you like someone?” said the green haired girl with a small glint of hope in her eyes.

“WHA…ME?” said Sayaka while getting visibly red, “why would I? I’m not sure… I…” she laughed visibly but stopped as she saw the serious face of her friends. There was no escape to it.

“Come on Sayaka, you’re the one that brought the topic and besides, we’re friends, right?” said Homura trying to reassure the bluenette. She already had an idea of who this person was but wanted to hear it directly from her friend, trust was important in a relationship after all…

“I…I…” the bluenette stammered as she breathed hard and said “okay, I like Kamijou Kyousuke!” she shouted at the top of her lungs while standing up making everyone in the café turn their heads to look at the bluenette which prompted her to get as red as a tomato.

Homura stared at her wanting to facepalm but then to the bluenette’s surprise the usually serious girl gave an uncharacteristic snort and laughed loudly.

“Hey!” said Sayaka while getting even redder if that was possible but started laughing along with Homura shortly after. When the laughter finally subsided they stared at each other and Homura spoke.

“See? It was no big deal” said the black haired girl while cleaning a tear from her eye due to how much she had laughed while resting her own arm on Sayaka’s shoulder.

“Indeed, actually you should confess to him” said Hitomi in an uncharacteristic strained voice which Homura noticed but the bluenette didn’t.

“I don’t know…what…what if he says no…” said Sayaka while visibly stressed and unsure of what to do with her hands at the moment.

“What if he says yes” countered Homura, “and if he said no, then it would be his loss for he has no idea what a wonderful girl you are” she continued while trying to reassure her bluenette friend.

“And no matter what happens, we’ll always support you” said Hitomi while putting a hand on Sayaka’s shoulder and trying to sound encouraging while doing her best to hold back tears.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Nodame Cantabile – Itsuka Mita Fuukei**

It had been a rainy afternoon when Sayaka made her way to Kyousuke’s room, legs trembling and her bag full of classical music CD’s which she planned to listen with the boy as she grimly entered the room.

“Oh Sayaka!” the violinist said happy as he greeted the bluenette girl as she entered the room. “Please take a seat, I was wondering if you wouldn’t come”.

“I…I was kinda busy…” she answered while looking at the boy and remembering the songs he used to play as a child and made her heart dance in his strings.

“It’s okay, I’m glad to see you well” he answered while smiling at her. Sayaka’s heart melted.

“Say Kamijou…I was wondering…and I don’t mind if you don’t wanna answer!” the bluenette quickly added trying to sound reassuring, _‘why must it be so hard!?’_

“What’s it Sayaka?” the boy leaned over to her curious about her weird behavior.

“Well, today I was talking with my friends and we…we were talking about love…” started the bluenette, “do you…like someone? But you don’t have to tell, I’m just curious!”

Kyousuke laughed at Sayaka’s antics while pondering, his right hand resting on his chin as he thought. “Well…there’s this girl I’ve known for a long time…”

“Really?” said Sayaka expectant.

“Yeah, she has taken good care of me and I really appreciate her”

 _‘Someone that has cared for him…’_ Sayaka’s heart started thumping loudly in her chest as she leaned over to where Kyousuke laid in his bed.

“Yeah, she’s smart and funny and very beautiful” the violinist continued not noticing Sayaka was leaning more and more.

“Yes?”

“She’s got such a good sense of humor and I always feel better when I’m with her”

“YES?!” Sayaka was inches from Kyousuke’s face now, her eyes shining expectant and her mouth agape, _‘I can’t believe it, this is…’_

“Yeah, I have sent her several letters, I wonder if Hitomi liked the chocolates too.”

 _‘…the worst day in my life…’_ thought Sayaka as she felt something within her breaking in thousands of pieces and her hopes plummeted to the ground. She leaned back on her chair.

“Ah…Shitsuki Hitomi…” said the bluenette in a voice she had never heard from herself, hollow and broken as she fought the tears that tried their best to fall from her eyes. _‘Don’t cry in front of him, don’t cry in front of him…’_

“Yes, she’s so intelligent and ladylike, I hope to confess my feelings in person when I’m healthy again…Sayaka?” Kyousuke suddenly stopped talking as he saw the bluenette sobbing quietly in front of him. “What happened? Are you feeling sick?” he asked slightly worried about the sudden change of behavior in his longtime friend.

“No…it’s perfect…everything’s…perfect…” Sayaka sobbed louder this time unable to hold back the tears that fell freely from her eyes and abruptly she stood from her seat, the chair falling to the side and raced outside against Kyousuke’s protests leaving all her CD’s behind.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Fate OST – Surrounded by smiling faces.**

“I’m late! I’m late!” shouted Sayaka at the top of her lungs thirty minutes later as she swallowed the food in one go and grabbed her backpack to go to Homura’s club. It was the third time she came late to the club and if she intended to challenge Hitomi she had to do better than that.

“Sayaka, just so you know I’ll be outside the city this week” said Sayaka’s mother Kanon as she dressed herself in business gear. She was a successful businesswoman and owner of a chain of sea food restaurants across several cities which meant she rarely had time to tend to her daughter’s needs. Her background meant she naturally drifted towards equally busy businesswoman Junko Kaname that spent even more time as her working in her medical business.

“Again mom? Well, it’s alright, take care!” said Sayaka trying to sound understanding only to find her mother already busy checking several papers. The bluenette’s smile fell and she focused on going to school as quickly as possible.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Postmeridie**

“Lady Hitomi, it’s time to go to school!” a cheerful mature voice said to her as she opened her eyes. It was Mei, her nana, a middle aged woman with brown hair dressed in a long and frilly maid suit. Wrinkles beginning to show in her face but in a way that gave her the appearance of profound kindness almost like a really nice grandma. She had taken very good care of Hitomi since she was a child, always doing her best to keep her away from harm and giving advice and confidence to whatever the girl had to say. She loved her nana very much, she was her second mother.

“Good morning nana Mei!” answered the green haired girl at her nana as she stood on her elbows against her huge queen sized bed. Quickly a tray of food was served in front of her as her nana placed several different kind of dishes and served her a steaming cup of tea.

“Oh nana, you didn’t have to!” said Hitomi after looking at all the food and smiling kindly to her parental figure.

“Oh but my little girl is growing so fast, you need to eat well to be at your best” answered Mei smiling kindly.

“Thanks nana! It looks delicious!” said Hitomi as she started eating. “I wonder if Rachel would like a taste” she said as an afterthought as she raised a doll that was by her side on the bed. Hitomi always liked to play with the idea that Rachel was alive and talked with her. She knew it was silly, after all those years to keep talking with a doll; but having lived a mostly secluded life full of activities which left her with little time to hang out with real friends like Homura and Sayaka…she had to make do.

“Don’t worry darling, I already prepared another tray for Rachel” her nana said as she put another tray with fake food at the doll’s side. Hitomi hadn’t expected that and laughed at her nana’s antics.

“You did all that for me?” said Hitomi impressed.

“Of course, anything for my little girl” said her nana in reply.

 _“I love you nana Mei”’_ Hitomi said softly while smiling and eating her food.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Conturbatio**

After having finished her breakfast Hitomi went for a bath. _‘Two hours for class, still have time’_ she thought as she sunk on her bathtub while thinking. It had been two days since Sayaka had confessed to Kamijou and the bluenette had been very depressed, unwilling to tell her what happened.

Sighing, the green haired girl sunk lower on the bathtub letting the water soak away at her worries; the scent of lilacs relaxing her heartache as she blew the bubbles that formed. _‘What should I do…should I tell her? But…I can’t…and it most probably will be the end of our friendship’._

Hitomi didn’t know what to do. For one she could reciprocate Kamijou’s feelings and start a relationship with him which would make her family very happy as her mother always told her that she should marry someone in such a good standing as Kyousuke who was a talented violinist player and had a rich and prestigious family background full of talents from his merchant father and mother to his uncles that where war heroes and even his grandgrandfather who had been royalty; doing so would also mean Sayaka would most probably hate her and she would have to break up their friendship permanently.

Such a thought hurt Hitomi deeply as Sayaka meant to her a lot…the other option was to keep being a supportive friend to Sayaka and hope that Kamijou miraculously changed his feelings from her to Sayaka. Somehow she doubted that was possible even if she put all her efforts in getting Kyousuke to understand that Sayaka was the best that could happen to him, and then…what about her needs? Where was she left?

For it broke Hitomi’s heart to know Sayaka wouldn’t even consider it; she had low hopes anyway, after all, what were the chances that Sayaka swung that way? All these years having the idea of loving another girl drilled into her head being ‘forbidden love’ by her family and Hitomi still couldn’t envision a future where Sayaka wasn’t in the equation. She loved the bluenette in a deeper way than she had loved any boy, she loved her quirks, she loved to hear her laughter, she even loved the way she made mistakes and even loved her obnoxious and out of place comments.

But it wouldn’t work, their fate was never to be with each other and that was what hurt Hitomi so much.

She got out of the bath and her nana cheerfully handed her a robe which she used to cover herself while drying her hair with another. Hitomi sighed, ‘ _even if she never gets to love me the way I do…if she’s happy that should be more than enough for me to be happy, right?’_ she didn’t feel that convinced about it.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Fate OST – Surrounded by smiling faces.**

Oriko lifted herself from the bed, Kirika still sleeping with an arm wrapped around Oriko’s waist as she looked at the place.

She lived in a crumbling mansion that once belonged to her dad; one of the few properties that the state had let her keep after her father was discovered embezzling money from the government and killed himself.

The mansion had long sinuous corridors and a black and white checker pattern which Oriko had personally set after she had moved in, removing the red carpets as they gave her bad memories, _‘of father lying there on the carpet…blood pouring from his head where the bullet had come…’_. All the maidservants had left after the incident, refusing to work there anymore due to how the house generated bad press and so the mansion was left to crumble; most of the light bulbs having short out and many of the rooms in the vast mansion in total darkness while collecting dust. Not that Oriko cared that much, she had little use of so much space and kept the mansion because it belonged to the Mikuni family and as such it was only right to be occupied by a Mikuni heir…

Kirika was sleeping loudly next to Oriko, her mouth open and snoring freely while lying completely clotheless upon Oriko’s urging. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself the luxury of feeling the warmth of human contact and the fact that it came so close and from her love Kirika made her feel giddy inside.

She went to take a shower and suppressed a scream as she felt the cold water against her skin; the boiler they used to warm the water had been malfunctioning lately and Oriko didn’t have the funds nor the time to fix it. She could ask Kirika to do it but…she didn’t want to abuse Kirika’s kindness. Oriko knew that if she asked for it, Kirika would gladly walk barefoot the stairs of hell, ‘ _and maybe she has already…’_ thought Oriko upon remembering she was the reason of Kirika’s Contract and so she felt she had already asked too much of Kirika, specially as she had retrieved her bleeding and bruised body from an encounter with an obnoxious Puellae two days ago. The idea of losing Kirika made Oriko’s heart stop momentarily as she remembered the way Kirika had clung to her, whispering her name in her ear and crying in joy at having Oriko there by her side…

Shutting her eyes and forcing the memory away Oriko Mikuni decided to steel herself and do something about it. Kirika wouldn’t wake up in several hours as she wasn’t very much a morning person, unlike Oriko that couldn’t sleep at all when her powers kicked in and the visions became too traumatic to bear. But bearing the fate of the world on her shoulders was her burden to bear and she didn’t want Kirika to suffer from her lack of control.

Oriko made her way to the mansion’s basement, transforming from her pajamas to her Puella Magi outfit. Now dressed in a beautiful white dress that looked a lot like a wedding dress with blue ribbons and a blue hat that reminded Oriko of the hats the aristocrats her family frequented, she grabbed a bowl of cereal and milk along with a spoon as she walked down the stairs of the cold and decrepit family basement while humming a classical song to herself while she walked.

She opened the door and coughed a little as the dust settled in the place. It was a sparse room almost entirely in shadow with a stone floor that didn’t leave much space for warmth with sturdy stone columns that supported the whole place along with the much hated boiler that was as Oriko expected malfunctioning again. The whole place was covered in a thin layer of dust and it smelled strongly of moss and rotten wood, all was dusty except the most recent acquisition to the mansion which laid unmoving over a stone table.

**Song: Alice Madness Returns  OST – Track 01 – Main Theme**

Carefully strapped with chains and leather straps laid a redhead dressed in a black tanktop and ragged shorts; her eyes glazed over and staring but not seeing at the ceiling, completely empty as if dead. _‘Which she is, for now…’_ thought Oriko grimly as she took the wooden box she had retrieved from her bedroom and opened it to reveal a shimmering red Soul Gem which belonged to the bound redhead in front of her.

Taking the gem and putting it on another small wooden table at the redhead’s side, the Gem started shining and the girl that had been quiet moments before let out a loud gasp for air as the lungs that had been over 16 hours without working came back to life.

The redhead looked at the surrounding area as if in a daze until her eyes finally settled on the girl standing in front of her.

“We meet again, Kyouko Sakura” said Oriko to the angry redhead in front of her which prompted Kyouko to struggle against her bounds trying to be set free.

“Coward! Useless piece off…” said Kyouko doing her best to free herself from the bounds and shouting at Oriko every curse word she knew.

“Such poor manners…remember you’re a guest here” Oriko narrowed her eyes while looking a Kyouko struggling in vain to free herself. “Looks like yesterday’s lesson didn’t sink in, I suppose I’ll have to discipline you again” said Oriko with coldness in her voice making Kyouko cower.

Kyouko started breathing harder and wild, she knew what would come next and she didn’t want to but there was no escape.

An orb materialized in front of Oriko, it was a green pulsating and glowing sphere which reminded Kyouko of vines in some way. Her face changed to horror as Oriko gave her a small smile and suddenly the sphere went flying at an impossible speed and struck Kyouko in her right elbow which gave out a loud creak as the orb impacted and made Kyouko scream at the top of her lungs, her arm bent at an unnatural angle.

The orb moved back to where Oriko stood and she spoke in a sweet and comforting tone. “Now are you ready to tell me about the newcomer magical girl?”

“I…I don’t know anything and even if I knew…I wouldn’t tell ya you stupid bitch!” Kyouko answered defiantly while holding back tears as Oriko made an angry scowl.

“Well, if that’s how you want it…” said Oriko with her features darkened as the orb flew again and stuck Kyouko in her left ankle prompting another scream from the redhead as she struggled again against the bonds, a tear running down her cheek against her will as she tried to withstand the pain.

“How about Tomoe Mami? Tell me about her tactics dear” said Oriko while softly caressing Kyouko’s cheek in a motherly way. “I promise if you do I’ll give you a brief respite from the pain” she said with a small smirk in her eyes trying to make the redhead loosen to her.

“Go to hell!” shouted Kyouko as she spat to Oriko’s face.

“You little!...okay, so be it” said Oriko wiping the spit from her face in a disgusted fashion as she started humming Connect while the orb kept striking different parts of the redhead’s body, eliciting groans of pain and muffled screams which Kyouko did her best to suppress as she felt several bones breaking from the assault.

 _‘I have at least one hour left until Kirika wakes up and I have to attend class, Shirome is half an hour away so…no hurry’_ thought Oriko as she calmly ate her cereal while humming and looking at the orb bouncing back and forth.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

After a full hour of play Oriko Mikune grabbed her bag and decided to take a detour instead of going to school while clutching her head in protest. _‘All those screams gave me a migraine, I don’t feel like dealing with brats today’_ was Oriko’s thought as she got aboard the first Taxi she could find while rubbing her temples and still annoyed at how Kyouko had screamed louder the more she went on.

“Where do I take you miss?” said the taxi driver, a middle aged man with American complexion and chubby face along with a gentle bearing to his factions with glasses, a brown tuxedo and a beret on his head. He smiled kindly and Oriko could see his eyes glinting with mischievous intelligence.

“Mitakihara’s – Kinderheim Orphanage please” said Oriko softly to the driver; he seemed like such a nice fellow, such a shame her visions told her he would become a serial killer in two years from now...

After almost one hour of sitting idly in the backseat and staring at the man whose driving license read ‘Jeff Hope’ they finally arrived at ‘Mitakihara’s – Kinderheim Orphanage’, a set of black stone rundown buildings with dark clouds hovering over the place. It didn’t seem amiable in the least which was the reason Oriko had chosen to come here in the first place.

“Thank you and…take care” said Oriko to the amiable taxi driver after handing him several bills and he drove off. For a moment she considered dealing with him but if her visions were correct he would soon be stopped by another ‘functional sociopath’ and everything would be right with the world; she didn’t want to alter too much fate if she could avoid it and she had enough pressing matters to deal with already, what with having not one but two extremely powerful magical girls, from which one was an unknown factor while the other could Contract anytime and whose transformation would mean the end of the world as we know it. No, Oriko had a lot to think about…but not today.

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Clementia**

 “Oh lady Oriko, it’s great to see you again!” said a feminine voice walking calmly towards her; she wore a black and white nun outfit which marked her petite frame. She was an older woman, close to reaching her thirties, tall, brown haired along with a pair of hazel nut eyes framed by black squared glasses which gave her a stern look.

“The pleasure is mine, Ryu” replied Oriko while giving her ‘politically correct smile’ at the nun. Oriko had known Ryu several months after she Contracted. She knew she was a very kind person and treated the orphans very well…she also knew she would steal from the funds and badmouth Oriko from time to time; she hated it but her power was not hers to control, besides…the number of people that didn’t outright dislike her after learning of her father’s ‘misadventure’ was very slim and growling lower every day.

“I’m aware you received this month’s donations” asked Oriko.

“Indeed, we and the orphans are very grateful for your constant help lady Oriko” said the nun, _‘and so is your wallet’_ thought Oriko grimly but let it go.

“I’m glad it has helped them.” said Oriko without emotion.

“It really has, you know how hard is to maintain such an orphanage, and being an orphanage for terminally ill children…” said the nurse while smiling sadly but she was interrupted by a childish wailing “hey Cletus! Stop biting Miku!” shouted the nun.

“Sorry lady Oriko but I must tend to my duties. Enjoy your stay here.” the nurse bowed apologetic and turned away.

Oriko started walking calmly amongst the children while smiling at them. She used to attend this place to play with them and try to cheer them until their last moments, she knew it wouldn’t be enough for her to atone for the sins she had committed in the past, even less for those she would need to commit in the future; but Oriko Mikune felt she at least owed the world that much, in her name and her father’s.

“Mama Oriko!” shouted a childish feminine voice that startled Oriko of her own thoughts as she saw the person she had been looking for.

“Mayu! It’s great to see you!” said Oriko as she approached a 12 years old girl, brown short hair cut up to her neck, with a kind but serious look in her eyes that nonetheless managed to keep her innocent look in them. The girl smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Oriko in a happy embrace while Oriko laughed and returned the embrace.

“Wow you have grown a lot!” said Oriko cheerful while patting her head. It broke Oriko’s heart to know this girl wouldn’t get to see adulthood.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Charles Gonout – Ave Maria**

“And this is our littlest patient” said the nurse while pointing to a young Oriko Mikuni as she saw a small girl covered in a huge sweater that made her way across the room while doing her best to not be noticed. The girl gave Oriko one small stare to which the Puella Magi gave her a confident smile trying to make her feel comfortable…only to have the girl run away without looking back. Oriko’s smile fell as the nun told her the girl’s story.

“She has been infected with AIDS after receiving abuse and rape from her stepfather” the nun said with sadness in her voice.”Her mother abandoned her while reprimanding her for ‘taking her husband’s love’” she has told us when in group therapy. “She’s so quiet, but also very strong. After having endured such abuse the girl finally escaped home and lived as a vagrant on a wooden box. We found her with a dog, just a bunch of bones…poor girl…” Oriko felt sick, how a family could be so evil with a poor girl, Oriko’s father wasn’t the best but he always loved her and did his best to teach her to be a good girl even if he himself fell short in the end. ‘ _This is intolerable’_ thought Oriko and from then on she took upon herself to protect and cheer up the little girl any way she could until her time finally came.

The seer had even thought several times about asking Kyubey to make a Contract with her but had relented in the end believing the girl would be better off having a quick death than suffering permanent torment and witchdom by following the path of a Puella Magi.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: FSN OST – Gentle Everyday**

“Oriko, are you alright?” said the girl while staring at her protector’s eyes, to which Oriko gave a little yelp of surprise.

“Yeah, sorry about it, look I brought you something” said the seer as she sought in her bags and finally got out a rolled chocolate candy. She gave it to the girl that upon receiving it smiled in delight.

“Thank you mama Oriko!” said Maiyu cheerful while taking away the envelope which she saved in her pants to remember such event. “I wonder if Wanta would like some” she pondered.

“Honestly…I wouldn’t recommend it, chocolate is toxic for dogs” said Oriko with a sour face as her mind gave her a vision of Maiyu crying over her beloved pet’s corpse. “Seriously”

“Okay, I’ll remember that, thanks Oriko!” said the girl as she ate the chocolate happily while patting a small furry creature by her feet. “Wanta says thanks too!”

“Hello Wanta!” said Oriko kneeling on the grass and grabbing the puppy in her arms to which the dog started licking her affectively to both girls laughter.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**Song: Yuki Kajiura - Conturbatio**

This is the story of two friends, two friends that were separated by the cruelty of fate as they fought in vain against destiny itself to be together.

One was a cheerful young girl that loved to hang out with her friends; to those that didn’t know her she would have seen like your typical high school student. She was cheerful, talkative and something of a ditz but for those that truly got to know her, she was a surprisingly kind soul that always had words of encouragement for everyone and that loved the world infinitely, so big was her love in fact, that she was willing to sacrifice her life and her future so that everyone would be safe.

The other friend loved this girl with all her heart but she didn’t feel herself as anything special at all; actually, she lacked any special talents and she was sick from a rare disease so a lot of time she felt like a load compared to her amazing companion. She was always lonely and got depressed easily but the cheerful girl tried again and again to cheer her up, always by her side despite how difficult it was to be with her. It made the sick girl very happy.

One day, disaster struck and the cheerful girl had to make a difficult decision. A huge catastrophe came over the city and everything would be destroyed. The girl could flee and make another life while letting everyone die or she could fight and stand her ground, taking the risk of dying in exchange of the chance to save the city.

Her sick friend was so scared and pleaded for her to flee because she loved her friend so much that she couldn’t fathom this cheerful girl that was like a lighthouse in the darkness of her life, disappearing. But the cheerful girl would have none of that as she loved everyone so much, and so she risked everything, giving out her life in exchange of everyone else.

The sick girl was so sad at seeing her friend gone and cried a lot. Her friendship had changed her life and she felt guilty about not being able to repay her for everything she had done for her; she was angry at the world and fate for taking away such a magnificent soul that deserved better and not even knowing it.

Somewhere among the darkness a figure appeared, a genie some would think, and he made the sick girl an offer she couldn’t reject. A contract to cheat death itself…the sick girl would have her friend back but in exchange the sick girl would have to fight against the evils of the world…

The sick girl didn’t think twice; ready to do anything to save her beloved friend. And so…their adventures began…

Applause, she heard the sound of clapping hands coming from far away as she lowered her notebook and looked at the club members, 20 students, boys and girls applauding her after she had read the fragment of a new story she had come up last night. Homura felt tired but proud at having come up with something like this in such a short time and relished the feeling as she lost herself in the story, as if it had happened for real…

In the distance, the silhouette of Madoka stared at her sadly.

“That was a really nice story Homura!”

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**CHAPTER END**

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

**End Notes / Another Rant:**

References ahoy! Let’s see how many you can find XD

About Homura’s father, **Guess** , **Drinkie** and **Merciful Idiot** , you’re completely right, heheh, it’s NOT canon but it was too fitting to let it pass so bear with me. I won’t meddle with the Grail nor the Counter Force here but I have in mind at least two crossovers that may implement after I’m finished with this and Maiya’s story (which might be a long time from now…).

Hope you liked my rendition of Oriko; the idea behind her is that she is a really nice fellow…until you get in her way and she starts cutting you up…a mix between **Knight Templar** and **The Unfettered** as she is like Homura but willing to go to places Homura wouldn’t.

Made Hitomi gay because I enjoy the irony of her being such a purist while also being the one most affected by those ‘forbidden feelings’…

Also the original idea was to have Kyouko and Kirika K.O. each other (like a certain **Kick Ass** scene I loved) and have Kyouko escape battered and with Kirika still hunting her until reaching Mitakihara to warn Mami about the impending danger while Oriko tortured an anonymous Puellae but well…had to make up for my lack of gore and despair in my other story **Judgment** which as **Timmy Sparx** pointed was too soft, heheh.

Also thanks **MariiKo** for your reviews! I’m glad you liked the music. I’ve had some troubles getting the right tunes as I’m not so much of a musical person but doing my best here. Also I’m trying to add other songs beyond those of Puella Magi to avoid boredom. If only I could embed the songs directly here things would be so much easier, maybe in the **Archives of Our Own** is possible, will try and give you the link if it can work there.

And yeah the rant length is exponential to the number of days I spend without publishing, heheh.


End file.
